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“Most problems can be solved if you have a gun, a thousand bucks and a bottle of water”, he said, or something pretty close.
Is it that far from the truth? Money talks, water you’ll need sooner or later, usually sometime in the next three or four hours, and the gun is self explanatory.
Other than that, still keeping on a minimum basis attitude, what else would you add?
A pocket knife/Multitool? Make mine a Leatherman 830682 Charge TTi Multi-Tool
with pocket clip.A good jacket? May be as indispensable as the water in some climates.
Flashlight? Yes, a must have.
Lighter? Of course. The trusty peanut lighter in the keychain is mandatory in my opinon.
Credit card? Absolutely. Needed in the modern world and takes up insignificant space in the wallet.
i-Phone? Loving mine and while not indispensable it’s a very useful piece of gear. More on that in some other post.
Opinions, comments and suggestions are more than welcomed.
FerFAL
12 comments:
Pocket change. During Katrina (and virtually any type of natural happenstance that causes people to panic) the cell phones will not work, unless you are very very lucky. During Katrina I tried to place over 100 calls, and not a single one made it out.
Having $1000 is super handy, but it is very hard to put a $100 bill into a pay phone, and an awful lot of places won't take anything higher than a $50 bill.
So, unless you have wisely partitioned at least part of your $1000 into small bills, make sure you carry some change so that you are not dependent on the kindness of others if you need to communicate with somebody. Your cell phone won't work when a few million people within a few miles are trying to use theirs too.
how about "papers"...?
driver's license or passport
or something to show the law.
sturdy shoes or boots. can't go
very far very fast without 'em.
a friend. how many times has a
friend made the difference?
I think I'd go for a disposable/pay as you go phone but you could buy that.
What's the size/weight limitation?
Believe it or not I'd recommend a good 4 wheel walker like the handicap/Senior citizens use. I have to use one and you will not believe the ammount of stuff you can carry on one in those plus a couple of fabric shopping bags.
It's a great Multi-tasker and you could have trouble buying one in the USA ObamaCare future.
Depending on where you are, you could swap the bottle of water for a sheet of plastic - used for collecting water over night.
I've been pretty thirsty before, but one day without water in the hottest of days and conditions with lightened-heavy workloads and I made it ok.
Heat stroke is another matter.
I might pack a radio/walki-talki GMSR or whatever they are,... or would a hand held CB radio be better?
If they only made a Small GMSR/CB/pay-go cell phone in one, with a crank, and a tiny LED.
I saw a woman in the airport once with about 15' of a spiral telephone cord-like wire attached to her somewhat wild child, do you think something like that would be useful for those with children? Those in big cities anyway.
I would also say shoes. Even in cold weather you will loose heat very quickly if you use inappropiate and/ or wet shoes.
A good and well worn pair of combat boots will get you through nearly any climate. And remember to bring a spare pair of dry socks too.
And, using a little bit of shoe polish, you can use them as signaling mirror...
I can't really criticize Nomad's logic. As I read it he is saying that you need to have the means to defend yourself and the ability to get the goods and services you need.
While I could see that $1,000 being used up quickly in a crisis, I can't think of a problem in the last 50 years that couldn't be dealt with if you had the means to defend yourself (mindset, skillset and tools) and the funds to buy what you need (to include the assistance of others).
Add clothing suitable to the conditions to the list and you are set for any short term issue that may come your way.
Most of us who have been into the prepardness mindset carry enough extra crap in our pockets to help out as well but generally it isn't something that we NEED. Like a wallet full of cash it just expands our options some.
As much as we try to prepare for as many things as possible there will be things that we may not think of or things that are unique to the situation. When this comes up, cash is king.
Friends, particularly friends in the right places.
Cell phone hands down. Communication is the single most important thing needed to get through any emergency. No military operation goes down without a comprehensive communications plan.
It enables you to get the things you need beyond daily preparations. Your car dies, you get robbed, (yes, the BG got the better of you) public transportation is stopped, you're suddenly ill and unable to travel by yourself. The list of things you can't prepare for is very long. A simple phone call can solve many problems far better and easier than a backpack full of preps. Certainly if SHTF or TEOTWAWKI cell towers may go down, but they may not - most towers have emergency power supplies allowing calls during power outages. With data services a cell phone becomes invaluable, especially during emergencies. How lucky are we to be able to Google it anytime, anywhere?
Bones, cell phones did NOT go down even after the Haiti earthquake, when 95% of Port-au-Prince was utterly demolished. Voice calls were blocked, but text messages got through, and a number of people were able to text their location in the rubble to rescue crews. Some plans don't include texting; make sure yours does, even if it means paying extra. Of course, keeping a VHF amateur transciever in your preps is also good (you need a license). If cell towers have been destroyed, like in some wildfires, or targeted by rebels, you can use the VHF to get help.
Angry Cow
Duct tape, even better 100mph tape, and para cord.
My Great Grandfather always said you needed a thousand dollars and a thousand shells (bullets). Of course that was back in the 1930's so 10k USD would probably be more comparable now.
40 years ago I was in Boston with friends when a snowstorm started. We had two cars so about 1:00 am we started home me in my car and my friends went the other way. I slid through a turn and disabled my car hitting a curb (broke the front suspension). Everything was closed, no cabs, no tow trucks, so I began the long walk home (18 miles). I was in low shoes and sports jacket. The temp was 20 F, wind 10-20 and already 5 inches of snow (28 inches would fall before dawn) it was a blizzard. I walked through small towns until I got to the suburbs and wooded areas. No cars, no people, nothing but wind and snow. When I was so thirsty I laid down in the snow to drink from a stream I remembered that line in a poem; "miles to go before I sleep". I forced myself back up and walked on. 18 miles, 6 hours, by now over 24" of snow I slogged home and collapsed into bed. I slept 24 hours. Since then I have never gone anywhere without a jacket or sweater in my hands. Forget you are in a warm car think about what the weather is outside your car.
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