Second hand prepping is key...

After looking at all my gear someone asked me how can I afford all this.   Well, first, to quote my friend Myakka (its his screen name) "Skills beats stuff"!  And I agree with him 1,000%.  In fact, if you look at my second blog entry where I establish my definition of prepping I focus on time shifting and said "Prepping is about performing tasks, acquiring goods, products, resources, and or tools, and gaining or learning skills at a time of convenience, low cost, or availability".  But you have to get stuff, right?  and of course stuff is expensive, right? So what do we do?   Now there are a few independently wealthy preppers. Most of which are featured on Nat Geo's Doomsday Preppers, buying bunkers, and tanks, and all kinds of gadgets, but that isn't practical for most of us.  Then to top it off, we all have these things called "lives", where washing machines break, and cars need transmissions, and kids need collage tuition and all of that needs to fit in somewhere.

Well, i'm going to let you in on a little secret of how I afford all this gear...  ok, don't tell anyone,  you ready?  I buy it used.  Yeah, you heard me USED.  Ebay, Craigslist, and yard sales are my best friend. Now, I do my research on the products I want first.  I work out my plan first, and I only buy quality brands.   I have a list of things I'm looking to add as part of my load out, and I know enough about the different models to see if what i'm looking at has been abused, or is still fresh.  Then I patiently wait until I can win a bid cheap, or run across it somewhere when Grandpa has to clean out his garage.

Since most of my survival gear comes from the camping and outdoor arena, thats where I focus.  Thats not to say my plan is to go live in the woods in a crisis, but camping life means no stove, no fridge, no store, no running water, and alternative sources of heat, light, power.    And basically all those things parallel surviving at home in a crisis that impacts the grid in a major way.  Anyway,  you would be amazed how may guys buy the latest greatest gear and have the pervious year or twos model sitting around with no milage.  I figure why pay retail and all that mark up for something that is designed for heavy use but may have seen outdoors once or twice.  I've picked up an 80 dollar lantern for 10 bucks and it never had fuel put in it, fishing gear that got used once,  a 300 dollar tent that saw one weekend of use for 45 dollars, because the guys wife didn't like camping.

Secondly, a lot of recreational gear double as prepps.  Throw fashion out the window and shop the end of season sales.  Buying winter hiking gear in April may look funny but guess what, I guarantee we have another winter coming around again.  Winters are funny like that.  And i'm sure those 135 dollar Columbia mountain boots and 20 dollar wool socks will feel so much better on the trails in November when you only paid 48 and 5 for them on clearance.

Fighting the darkness... With a Coleman

One of the most troubling parts of a crisis is the lost of light.  Darkness is naturally unsettling because we are deprived of one of our critical senses, sight.   As with other concerns, I looked for systems and redundancy in creating a solution.  Of course i have batteries and flash lights,  I also have a solar power generation system as part of my trailer that can provide light at either my home or a camp/evacuation site.  But looking for cost effective implementable and flexible solutions is key.

To that end I have also invested in lanterns to provide alternative lighting.  Now the one on the right is propane powered and I use it camping regularly, and using either 1 pound tanks, or on a 20 pound tank from a propane tree that also fuels my camp stove.  It is reliable and bright, and a great light source in camp.  In a short term crisis it would be find, but the major constraint is fuel.  Propane is very bulky in small tanks and may not function in cold temps.

Now the two on the left are the ones I want to focus on.  Since flexibility is key in my prepping, there was no better solution then the Coleman Dual Fuel lantern.  Not only do they run Coleman white gas, they also run on gasoline.    While it is flammable, it requires the same precautions as to store as propane tanks, but has a shelf life thats almost unlimited for my purposes, and works in the coldest temps. Also, Coleman white gas being a liquid is far denser then propane gas, a single gallon can replace up to 8 single tanks. so from a storage perspective its a far better solution. I have friends who have found and used 20 year old white gas that their father stored away, and it burned just like new.

Even better, the convenience of propane has made these lanterns very affordable on the secondary market.  New (old stock), and slightly or unused ones can be found cheaper then it will cost to ship.  I personally spent just a bit more to get ones with the protective case, but the protective cases alone are 15 to 25 dollars, so if you factor in that as a separate purchase, my actual lantern cost was cheaper then what many others cost.

A small inventory of mantels and fuel, and for under 100 dollars total, I have greatly increased my ability to light a campsite if need be.

Bug out / Camp trailer upgrades

I started working on my bug out / camp trailer in the fall, and you can see in some earlier post the initial set up.  Well, over the winter and spring i have made several improvements to increase capacity and flexibility in the system.

First I added the 4" PVC pipes on each side to hold 1# propane tanks.  I did a detailed post about the tubes earlier, and they now are in place.  They are low and far enough apart where they actually seemed to increased the stability on the trailer because they sit right over the tires.

The next big change was the addition of a roof top travel bag.  I was able to get a slightly used Rola Platypus Expandable Rooftop Bag.  I installed metal mounting hardware to the trailer lid and using the straps attached the bag.  This gives me up to 15 additional cubic feet of soft goods storage space, and frees up space lower inside the trailer for heavy gear that will lower the center of gravity for the total load.  

i'm going to store light bulky items in the bag like sleeping bags and clothes.  I recently added a cast iron Dutch oven and some other cast iron cookware to my camping gear, because of their weight and density, the center of the trailer right over the axel should be the perfect location to place them. That will efficiently use the reclaimed space and increase stability and weight distribution at the same time.

Start em while their young

To some the idea of prepping is a fad.  Spun off of the latest TV show Doomsday Preppers, or the calendar clicking to 2012, and fueled by "The Walking Dead" and World War Z or movies about the apocalypse.   To others its joke causing ridicule or suspicions of paranoia.  There are the lucky few for whom its a natural extension of their lifestyle.   Rural living, growing your own food, self reliance. Then there are people like me.  Urban (or suburban) lifestyle, trapped in the city by jobs or family, but have or want to integrate an outdoor and prepping lifestyle into their daily lives.    

The challenge becomes with the hustle and bustle of daily life, how to find time for it all.  One of my biggest solutions has been to make the Outdoor lifestyle and prepping a part of my quality time With my family, and not something I try to "fit in" around them.

My 11 year old son doesn't even think about it as prepping when he is at the gun range. Or setting up camp in the back yard, or going on a long hike or bike ride with our packs on  To him its adventure and fun hanging out with dad.

When I signed up and took our community CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) class, I signed up both myself and my daughter.  Every week for 6 weeks she looked forward to "Daddy Daughter" day when just the two of us would go out to dinner, eat, talk, share, and then go to CERT class together. And you can hear the pride when she talks about being CERT trained.

She is in collage studying to be a Veterinarian, but she also took the Med skills and first aid classes in high school.  She knows she is the designated medic for the family, so she keeps track and inventory of all the OTC and fish meds.

When we talk about sheltering in place, they know we are a team, and they know their responsibilities.  Its not foreign to them.  Its just what we do.  Start them while they are young and even city kids will be in a prepared self-reliant mindset from an early age. 

Another day, another test... or two

Its headed towards camping season, so the first nice day I figured would be a great time to test out my gear and get ready for the season.   If you haven't figured out by now, let me tell you out right, i'm a huge Coleman fan. I've been impressed with their quality, and the easy of use of all my Coleman gear and I continue to be a happy customer.  I use their products for recreation, and I'm comfortable that in a life threatening crisis they will function equally as well.  This is a Coleman instant tent I picked up end of last season.  Its the midsize 14 X 8.  I had a devil of a time finding a place on line with the rainfly in stock, but it was worth the trouble.  Its a much better family tent compared to the 4 person, which feels like a closet to me.  It also has a interior divider so you for two people you can set the back room up for sleeping and will hold two twin air mattresses with a walk way between. The front area with the lower windows is perfect as a evening bug free sitting area.  Its sturdy, and sets up in a flash.

Now THIS little baby is not a Coleman, but it is worth its weight in gold if you are a coffee fiend like me (if the Keurig isn't a clue).  Its a Nissan thermos french press.  Coffee is a necessity at home and in camp, but usually you have to compromise on taste in the field and drink some instant powdered mud water. Well not any more! This insulated gem is stainless steel in can take a beating, and will keep your gourmet coffee warm around camp for hours.  

So what does it have to do with preparedness?  Well, add a crank coffee grinder (like i have) and vacuum seal some whole coffee beans (whole has the best shelf life) and when that little Keurig is a powerless paperweight, I can still have a great cup of joe.  Best part is that in testing it for my camping trip next week I was so impressed with the flavor i've decided to use it every weekend, when I can sit and enjoy.

Practice may not make perfect...but it can make you prepared.

Thats the philosophy I apply to prepping, and how I integrate it into my life.  You can't wait until an emergency and hope your plan works.  You need to try it out. Both big things, and little things.  Now if you can integrate practice with daily life, then thats a bonus.

Here is a classic example.  Walking has been a part of my exercise regiment for years.  I do 3 to 5 miles for cardio 3 or 4 times a week. I knew I needed to upgrade my backpack, so over the winter I invested in a Kelty Redwing 50.  Well its now all fully packed to be my "get home" bag and ride in the kit in the back of my pick up.  But the LAST thing I want to do is be strapping it on for the first time when a crisis has occurred and i've got 22 miles to hoof to get home.

So, I have combined the two.  I'm breaking out my full pack and doing my walks in full gear.  Its adding a little bit more intensity to my training, and has made me sort through what I have packed and look for ways to lighten the load.  I also have a chance to break in my hiking boots by rotating them instead of running shoes.  A few of my neighbors kind of give me a stare, but its well worth it to know i'm ready to hump my way home.

Now I have said before, I don't have a bug out bag.  But a lot of people do.  So if you have one, don't be an "arm chair prepper", pull that back pack out, strap it on, and go for a nice long walk. You will be happy you did.

My cooking fuel strategy...

My gear is loaded with cooking systems...

The all time favorite Campchef Camp oven,  my StoveTec rocket stove, my thermal pot, various camping pots and pans, and as soon as it gets here, my 5 quart Dutch oven.

Why so many? Well, first redundancy, but more importantly is they fit together in a cooking "system" to maximize my fuel.

The Camp oven does have cooking burners on top, but its purpose is mainly to bake bread.  Soups, stews, beans, and pretty much any meal seems more filling with bread as part of the menu.  I buy / store many off the shelf cornbread and muffin mixes that mix with water as part of my inventory, as well as Augason foods breads that have the long shelf life.  While a Dutch oven can be used for baking in a pinch, its easier to use this mini propane fueled camp oven so thats what i'll do as long as my propane supply lasts.

The StoveTec rocket is my work horse in the cooking system. Even though I hope to replace it with a Silverfire Survivor to save on weight, its a great stove.  I can bring water to boil and cook with any of the regular pans on darn near a hand full of sticks.  Its burns great and almost smoke free on what would be kindling for a traditional campfire. A rocket stove is a must.

The thermal pot I heat up on the rocket stove, but because the food stays hot and continues to cook for hours, it adds some flexibility to the system.  Its a perfect field cooking solution for beans and other meals that benefit from slow cooking.







The Dutch oven is for cooking over an open campfire.  Camp stews, chili, beans and a ton of other meals are best ONLY from a Dutch oven, buts its uses are almost limitless.

By using the camp oven only for breads and baking, and the other ways in what they are best for, I can stretch my propane a lot longer.  I can fire up my rocket stove mid day and using the thermal pot start beans to cooking that would be perfect by dinner time.  I can feed my family or a larger group a hearty meal western camp style with the dutch oven.   Using fuel sources like puzzle pieces as appose to relining on just one, I can extend my self sufficient time greatly and have built in redundancy.