Some people may have tried them, and there may be some benefit to them, but they seem kind of gimmicky to me. I'd go with a good multi-vitamin and real food with a long shelf life.
Some people may have tried them, and there may be some benefit to them, but they seem kind of gimmicky to me. I'd go with a good multi-vitamin and real food with a long shelf life.
I've got some in my car and in my packs, along with a bunch of other food and some water pouches. Yep, they are gimmicky. But they taste okay and are better than nothing. And they keep forever.
“Learning is not compulsory. Neither is survival.”
W. Edwards Deming
"Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils."
General John Stark
Was just thinking the same thing as I read this thread.
Seems like the first thing people do when the power goes out in an apartment complex is grab a flashlight and head out into the hallway to see what is going on. I cant imagine it would be any different in any other kind of emergency such as an earthquake, flood, etc...
There are always 2 exits/entry points to each floor, and you may want to have someone cover the other one if need be. Also, if you do have limited space and you make friends with a likeminded neighbor, you can cut down on redundent items as a team.
Oh, almost forgot, if you might need to do a river crossing, check out these packs and some smaller ones for potential BOBs. They are heavy, but how far does your plan require?
Last edited by Tundrascout; 07-18-2009 at 02:34 AM.
LOVE the packs!
Wish I didn't have some already but will definitely consider smaller ones
for indispensable stuff.
As far as neighbors are concerned...well, it's a whole different mindset over here.
And that's what makes my situation more difficult.
People just don't get into that kind of stuff.
Unless there's something imminently brewing, broaching the subject alone
would label me "out there".
So I have to thread lightly and hope for the best.
Do you have any friends(and I mean friends not just aquaintances) that you can broach the subject with In order to form a group? It might come down to all of you rallying to someone in the groups apartment or house. Then of course you have to think about security. After all you don't want people just wandering through your place taking what they will. If you want a good fiction read on this, I just finished the book Patriots by James Wesley Rawles ISBN 978-1-56975-599-0. Just some things to think about
I know what hunts you.
Unfortunately, all my really good friends are several states away,
and ready to jump in. Getting there from NYC would be a challenge.
Actually it's JWR's book "PATRIOTS" that got me going. (his site is terrific as well)
It did make my head spin, I felt humbled and totally out of my league
as far as survival skills go.
I just didn't know how little I knew and that was truly disturbing.
The learning curve is steep, so here I am.
That is pretty much how I was set up in Maine before I moved out to California. I had a place out in the boonies and we evn had a fall back retreat just incase we really had to lose our selves.
I know what hunts you.
I really liked the book with a few exceptions. A bit too much religion for my taste and second, I am not a proponent of ammo as a bater item as that could come back and bite you in the arse. I was also surprised that they didn't have more of their shelter below ground for both the warming and cooling properties of the earth during different times of the year.
I know what hunts you.
Ditto on both points.
At first I thought that I might as well give up because there's NO way
I could possibly get there (knowledge, skills, etc.) from here.
Then I wondered if I really wanted to.
And finally I came to the conclusion that although surviving is the ultimate goal
(for me personally) it can't come at the expense of actual "living" day to day.
A balanced life is the key and one of the hardest things to achieve.
Practically and philosophically. If you care enough.
It's very seductive to go one way or the other, all the way.
I can imagine the comfort it may offer.
But I can also imagine the missed opportunities.
It really comes down to the old saying..."when you have lemons, make lemonade or lemon cookies or lemon merangue pie" . Do the best you can with what you have. Keep your mind flexible and adaptable. If bugging in is not a good option research bugging out.
I know what hunts you.
Remy & Benesse, a good book to read for urban dwellers is The Unthinkable: Who survives when disaster strikes by Ripley. Similar to Deep Survival in its discussion of the psychology of survival, but really brings up a lot of situational awareness and understanding of the challenges to urban dwellers. It discusses at lengths on who lived and who died in the WTC on 9/11 and why some people did exactly the wrong thing. If you're going to place yourself in an environment with many human-caused risks with maximum density, it pays to be aware of how humans will react in a crisis.
I'll rest when I'm dead...
If bugging out becomes the only option then don't limit yourself to roadways. You said in the first post you don't have a car but it's tempting to use the roads because they make great pathways, but so do to railroads. And I'm sure far less people have considered using them. So they become less congested. At least take some time and find out where the rail lines run to and from so you have another option available to you.
Here is a link with several maps in NY state. Scroll down for lots of maps and additional links.
And don't forget about Google Earth to map out a route. It's an excellent tool!
http://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/maps/
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
BENESSE, I hope this thread has a long life. It is putting a face on a real problem with no solution. Well, there is a solution but, no one likes it.
Hope thinks there are a couple to a few too many people on the planet.
I have the predecessor, Live Off the Land in the City or Country, which I did enjoy. Getting a good all-arounder book like When Technology Fails by Stein is valuable for a reference, as they cover all sorts of disasters and the solutions to the problems that come with them. My first book all-arounder was Life After Doomsday by Clayton. They all cover the basics of what to store, how to store it, what are the possible scenarios, and how can you come back from it. I like the gardening and alternative energy aspects of Stein's book. It seems more grounded relative to no matter what goes on, smart prepping can save you money on food, help you produce your own food and energy, and looks at a variety of alternatives for heating, etc.
The best thing you could do to put it all together is find a local mentor who's been prepping for a while. Using a site like meet up can help find folks with common interests, whether it's urban gardening, shooting, or emergency preparedness. Just search for meetings in your area or post your own meeting. Once you start putting the feelers out there, it's amazing how fast you can start to network.
I'll rest when I'm dead...
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