Full-Spectrum Survival
 

I am always seeing discussion on the merits of bugging in and bugging out, and the plans that go into both of them. Well, both are equally important and both should be planned for. When deciding what to do for a particular crisis, we must first define a few things:

Is this an isolated incident? How isolated? Street? Block? City? County/Parish? State/Province? Country?
Is it the result of an active attack (NCB, invasion, oppressive government crackdown, etc.) or a passive crisis (ice storm, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, tsunami, EMP, etc.)?
What is the population of the town/city/area?
What is the climate of the area? The season?

For simplification of this discussion, I am defining "bugging in" as supply-based survival and "bugging out" as production-based survival. For example, bugging-in would be staying home, fortifying, and stocking up, while bugging out is going to your survival community ranch where everything you need to survive is produced there. Mind you, for some people "bugging in" IS "bugging out" because they are capable of providing everything they need in a secure environment without having to go anywhere.

That said, you can usually bug-in and wait out an isolated incident because the global support network will be kicked into high-gear to ferry supplies and assistance to your AO. In these situations, having a secure home with supplies stored is great because it allows you to limit your movements outside of the residence (thus limiting your risk of being attacked) and eliminates your dependence on the relief efforts. Riots, looters, and increased gang activity will still occur, but it will be in more isolated pockets of the area and if you're well prepped at home you should be able to manage those threats.

There is a point, however, where bugging in is no longer a good idea, and that occurs when one or more of the following conditions has become present:

- You have run out of water and/or food and there is no safe resupply method in the area or on the way.

- The threat of volatile human activity becomes too high (you need to be able to make a realistic threat assessment); this can be fire-starting rioters, gang activity, cannibal cults, or hostile military activity - expect all of them when SHTF.

- Airborne infectious disease with a high mortality rate is active in your area or at serious risk of spreading to your area.

- Environmental conditions do not allow for continued safe residence in the area (this is another threat assessment).

Most of the hardcore bug-in crowd will never prepare (or properly prepare) for a bug-out situation and, because of this, they will wind up as the same desperate refugees that they had hoped to never become. Preparation is like insurance, it may be difficult to justify at times when the risk of crisis is rather low, but the risks of not preparing at all are just too high - so those of us who are intelligent, prepare. ONLY preparing for bug-in situations is kind of like stocking water but no food. As I stated above, there are numerous conditions that will make sticking around a very bad idea (these conditions apply to BOL as well), so preparing for that eventuality is a natural extension to what we are all doing already (admittedly, at wildly varying levels). Simply having another secure place to go (and multiple planned routes to get there) is a great first step to managing more of the survival spectrum.

Keep in mind, supplies are a limited resource. Supply-based preparation is only one piece of the puzzle. For short-term crises having a stockpile of water, food, medical supplies, and ammunition is an invaluable investment and it is one that you should ALWAYS maintain, even after shit has hit the fan. However, relying on supply-based survival for a TEOTWAWKI situation, or any of the above listed criteria for bugging out, is completely irresponsible. That said, your survival preparations must include the following:

- Securing your location(s)

- Reliable means to defend yourself

- Reliable means of communicating (passively or actively) with the outside world

- Stockpiling water, food, medical supplies, and ammunition

- Redundancy for everything that is important (communications, defense, power generation, water purification, tools, etc.)

- Secondary and tertiary locations, preferably with caches in place

- Travel routes planned for various methods of transportation (foot, bicycle, horseback, car, aircraft)

- The ability to procure and store your own water, food, and ammunition

- The ability to repair what you have (training + tools)

- Defense training (MINDSET, hand to hand, pistol, rifle, shotgun)

- Medical training

Any plan that is missing any of the above needs revision.

The first thing a person who is starting out should purchase is a proper mindset and a realistic view of the risks that we face, especially as a modern society totally dependent on 'the system.' This first step can be purchased for free. The second step, thanks to the internet, is also free, and that is absorbing as much information as possible and developing a love for learning and a continued drive to constantly add to the stockpile in your mind. The rest of the steps all cost money, but they will also save you quite a bit:

- Get Off the Grid! It doesn't have to be completely, but having a means of providing yourself with your OWN electricity in a power outage is a great way to stay productive, remain entertained, and maintain a sense of normalcy. This will pay for itself come the first transformer blowout, ice storm, wind storm, etc., but it can also help pay the bills - in a lot of areas you can sell your surplus energy back into the grid. Some places re-evaluate their electrical use and actually manage to eliminate their hydro bill altogether.

- Get out of the city! Property costs are lower in rural areas, taxes are MUCH lower, insurance rates for damn near everything drop, the air is cleaner, you have room to be more independent and self-reliant, and you can play airsoft on your own property without the police showing up!

- Rainwater collection. Why let your lawn (if you even have one!) get all the rain? Rainwater collection and filtration methods are cheap, and gravity is free. This works really well with the first point, and even better with both previous points together.

- Learn to garden, and then start doing it. Some may say that there is nothing manly about weeding a garden, but you know what really isn't manly? Being a sorry-looking refuge in a Red Cross aid lineup or picking month-old garbage for scraps of food.

- Learn medicine. Medical training should be mandatory (hey, we're already in a socialist country, so why not go full-retard on the concept?). I think it is pretty obvious why everybody should know how to treat injuries, illness, shock, etc.

- Accept the fact that not every human being is nice and that you will have to arm yourself and become proficient at all-around self defense.

For those who do not agree with this post, I quote Forest Gump: "Stupid is as stupid does."

nice post, ill link it to my other thread

Ooh, there's another thread? Link please?

There was an excellent series of writeups I read once from a fellow living in Argentina (in a city) during what was basically a collapse of the economy. It got about as close as it gets to a complete societal collapse without actually being a Mad-Max style end-of-the-world scenario.

It was very eye opening, but probably not in the way you imagine.

First of all, lots of crime and much less policing, etc. Power and utilities basically gone. That sort of thing.

Just a few highlights off the top of my head:

• It never reaches the point of fantasy total societal collapse. You will probably even still get up and go to work every day.
• Lots of crime and lots of desperate people. But if you try to walk around with a rifle YOU will get the cops called on YOU. It never reaches the point of wild west wasteland.
• Your day will end at sundown. There is NOTHING TO DO once you have no light. You have to experience this to really appreciate it. Your grandparents might but you don't.
• Plenty of people getting robbed, but not by "roving gangs". He couldn't count the number of times people were amazed they got robbed by people who "looked much better off than us!"

Basically a "Bug-In" is actually far more likely as a result of even a severe societal collapse.

you have already posted in my SHTF Survival Thread remember? :)

Just search under my username for all my created threads. You cant miss it. If you have any more posts like this, just put them in the thread i made so ASC has one massive list of SHTF information.

I subscribed to it. Thanks for the link back to here! :)

Here's some hand-feeding in return for such a kind gesture: http://www.foxfire.org/thefoxfirebookseries.aspx

Foxfire. Otherwise known as the books of life!

Those points are all covered in my post. I think my criteria for bugging out is quite clear.

I was like you before. Do yourself a really big favour and read One Second After by William R. Forstchen. You will be doing yourself a serious disservice if you do not read it, as it opened my eyes to the possibility of a EOTWAWKI scenario.

Les serious situations: Haiti. Katrina. 1998 Ice storm. People weren't "heading into work" then, and there was chaos. People go nuts when their comfy high-tech lifestyles are disrupted, and people have a hard time coming to grips with the possibility of it ever happening. I feel bad for these people, because they will be the hardest hit.

What I say below is not meant to patronize anyone here, but it is harsh.

It is my personal philosophy that in order to continue to exist in a total shit hit the fan scenario (for all of these, I consider EMP to be a good benchmark), we need to kick ourselves back in time. Most people are so damned absorbed with their 21st century lifestyles that it never really occurs to them how much they are going to have to give up. Those that aren't as connected to that usually have some sort of romantic idea about surviving in a shitstorm. It's not pretty. It's not easy. It doesn't work with high-tech gadgetry, it takes real work. There are no shortcuts. Most of the "preppers" on these boards are ONLY prepared for "normal" emergencies such as power outages and such - they are not prepared for SHTF. Of course, I say that assuming that "SHTF" means what it is supposed to mean: nation-wide chaos where almost all systems go down and stay down for years, where the unprepared become refugees, violent bandits, or corpses.

It is my view that total preparedness can only be achieved if you are not dependent on any outside systems. Some will view that sentence and think "oh, well I am prepared because I have stored supplies and I can last a whole year without having to go to a grocery store!" WRONG! You are quite literally screwed if you are thinking that'll work. It won't. When your supplies run out, what are you going to do? This is SHTF that we're talking about, not a month-long power outage. This isn't some picnic. We're talking about total system failure here. When your supplies run out, you're going to have to adapt fast or die - is that what preparation is about? Going half the way because its easy and then stopping because we are all so adverse to real work?

Plain and simple, if you are incapable of providing for yourself then you are FUBAR. That is the reality we face. If you cannot grow your own fruits and vegetables and raise your own livestock, purify your own water, build your own furniture and shelter, then you are up shit creek without a paddle. Think of it as not having a job in a country with no welfare to support you - THAT is what you are walking into if you don't get your shit squared away.

Why do so many people struggle with this?

I suggest getting out of the cities because the general population (at least 75%) will go bonkers when they no longer have water pressure and when all the grocery stores are empty and close down. They will be frightened, confused. They will loot and steal and try to do anything, simply out of desperation, to feed themselves and their loved ones. This behaviour is understandable. They are totally trusting and reliant on the system and they do not believe it has the capacity to fail, yet every year we see yet another example of the whole vehicle coming to a screeching halt. Does anybody learn from this? I'm sure a few eyes are opened every time, but not enough - not even within the "survivalist" communities does it ring enough bells and shake enough people out of the slumber of complacency that the easy 1st-world existence has bestowed upon them. That said, if you want to be prepared the first thing you need to do is go somewhere safe, some place where you can actually take the steps to become prepared. There are a number of places on the 'net which are doing just that.

Once you are in this safe place (all things being relative, you are safer in a rural area than you are in a subdivision or in a city - the general rule being the further you are from population centres, the better), you need to know what to do. A lot of people will read my posts about bugging in and bugging out and assume that because that they are already somewhat, or totally, removed from society that they are in the clear. Uhm, not quite. You need to know what to do once you are in this place. If you are already out in the country then you have a huge head start on the rest, but you still need to start providing for yourself. This is preparation. If you expect to bug out when shit hits the fan and then plant some crops, you're missing the point. You need to "bug out" now (which is, as Musibike on WSHTF.com so aptly put it, bugging in somewhere else), learn what you need to learn now, and then start doing it now - not when the fires are already burning. The Foxfire books are a wonderful resource for this purpose and should be on everyone's required reading lists.

Oh, I'm not disagreeing with you on any particular point. I was just sharing that I found the Argentina situation particularly educational since it demonstrated how many shades of grey there can be under the very large "disaster preparedness" umbrella.

I remember reading that Argentinian's story, too.

Actually: http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/10.08/tshtf1.html (there's 4 parts)

Obviously everyone's mileage will vary based on location, events, etc.

Another point I'd bring up, for a lot of people (specially those in the city), "bugging out" involves getting out and staying out until some safe haven is found/order restored. Based on your [Wilson's] definition, it's probably like "bugging in" except on wheels. I know you have a very specific idea of what needs to be done to be prepared, but realistically it just doesn't work for most people: most lives don't revolve around that degree of preparedness, it just isn't practical.

Suggesting self sustainability and working with others towards the same end isn't practical?

I'll put it this way:

If you do not prepare at all, you are leaving everything up to fate. Essentially, you're planning on someone having the faculties and resources to come rescue you.

If you only horde supplies, you are at the mercy of those supplies holding out. When they do run out, you are stuck hoping that someone with the faculties and resources needed to come rescue you.

If you are self sustaining, then you can hold out indefinitely. It is quite possible to do this alone in suburbia, though the risks are quite high and the complications are astronomical.

I preach the ideal, in hopes that people will take at least part of it and do what they feel they can, which is usually a lot less than they could be doing if they really focused. Developing a survival community in a rural area and growing/raising everything you need to survive is an ideal. For 99.9999% of people, including myself, this is not going to happen any time soon. However, there are parts of that which we can ALL do.

There are things I must stress regardless of who you are or your present situation, and I'll leave how they are accomplished open for that reason:

- Understand the risks that large population centres pose and take steps to mitigate those risks. Your biggest problems come from there being a lot of people near you. Think of zombies, or a zombie outbreak, but instead of them wanting to eat you (that won't happen 'till later), they'll want to take everything you have, or expect that you share with them, and that simply doesn't work unless you have some way of conjuring food and water. Cities do not produce food, the country does - however, most of the population is located in metropolitan areas, and this is a problem if the complicated network that provides the food for the dense population centres suddenly grinds to a halt.

- Understand that any supplies you store will eventually run out, probably long before you estimated. Anything can happen, such as items being stolen/taken, destroyed by fire or flood, or being rationed to close friends and extended family that showed up after the shit hit the fan that you did not account for initially. Having supplies to act as a buffer is a good idea, but be realistic.

- Any steps, even the smallest of ones, that go towards actually providing the basic necessities for yourself and your family, are steps that should be taken. Anyone can do the little things, and its often these things that will make the ultimate difference. Gardens cost less than you would think, and rainwater is free.

Wilson, everything you say here is great general theory. Do you have actual knowlege and factual, proven tips on how to acheive all that?

If the bubble bursts, and there is a global system failure, I would most likely be worried about the numerous nuclear reactors that need to be maintained so they don't melt down.

I guess the persones in charges of those reactors will either stop them or continue to maintain them untill they have to stop them for some reason. (shortage of water coolant or fuel.)

I'm pretty sure they can't just leave and let the thing go as it please.

Loads.

Will you post it here?

One other thing in addition to research is practice practice practice. Go and spend a couple of days in the middle of bumfuck nowhere with little supplies to figure out where your strengths and weaknesses are. I've done camping trips before where I lived out of a backpack up in Algonquin park area drinking purified lake water, eating fish I caught in addition to the small amount of non-perishable, high energy food I brought along with me.
I took outdoor-ed in high school so we spent a lot of time learning about ways to survive off the land which really opened my eyes. I am considering taking a wilderness survival course this summer as it's something I've always wanted to do. Another thing I learned is make sure to learn multiple ways to create fire. Fire has so many uses and can actually keep you from going batshit insane as well if your alone for extended periods of time.

I don't mean what you're suggesting is wrong, I'm just saying for the average urban dweller, where people co-exist but don't really mingle (or trust), it isn't practical/easily achievable.

I still think the Argentinian Chronicles are a good example of life in the city in a non-total SHTF situation, where shit does hit the fan but a parody of normality continues: people (in general) still have to work or otherwise obtain food and other necessities, there are still police and other officials but they're in the same boat and there's rampant corruption.

IMO anyone who chooses (perhaps due to lack of any better choice) to dig in in those conditions will have to deal with survival in a very different way.



History Channel had an interesting show called Life After People (its out there in torrentland). Apparently the generators shut down by themselves (unless someone went in and vandalized the systems).

You're kidding, right? Where do you want me to start? Emergency medicine? Wilderness survival? Farming? Veterinary skills? Carpentry? All of these things, in order to properly teach, would literally require that you attend a physical class with me as well as reading several textbooks on the subjects at hand... and a few years to become proficient.

Don't try to hack away at my credibility just because you have your eyes glued shut.

This posting is here for people who are already into emergency preparation, I am merely trying to extend that envelope. If you don't believe in any manner of preparation, go get your head checked out before continuing to post in my thread.

Wow, get off your high horses. I'm not trying to hack your credibility.

I've read a few PDF on the mater and in there was very good tips on off the grid survival.

On that caught my eyes was how to get free food and free items (stealing, frauding) in a scenario where you have to live in a hostile city while travelling.

There was other trics on how to purify water, that to use, how to get it. That sort of thing.

I guess you could pick up a topic and elaborate. Because all that theorie mean nothing if there is no actual example of what you can apply it.

Oh and you know, making assumptions will have you in troubles! :D

How is this topic pertinent to Airsoft gameplay? This topic seems better in 'Off-topic' or on another forum completely.

Some of it could be of use for long milsim where you have to survive in the wild. Or if you get lost.

When you think of airsoft as a trainning medium, you can fit a lot of things in it that are not really part of the game itself.

Longest MilSim that I've heard about in North America is 3-days, longest in Europe is 7-days. Certainly nothing that requires farming skills.

I certainly could see a thread on longer milsim survival techniques, but talking about carpentry is a bit more than really is needed for even the most extreme MilSim. Things may be different in the east... "Your objective is to capture that area, talk to the 'knights of Ne' and build them... a Shubbery!" *Grin*

Though, I would enjoy learning digging techniques for building a concealed, two person fox hole with central grenade sump and some overhead cover. Digging -is- a skill, and I can dig in urban environments, but heavy rooted areas, that tires me out.

To get back on topic, let's look into something I've been pondering lately...

I'm building a go-bag.

I don't want to call it a BOB, because it's more of a 'holy shit, need to move' bag than a 'I could live out of this for 2 weeks' bag.

Now, I've got a big white-board in the man-cave detailing what I'm looking for next... top on my list being a decent pry-bar and to complete my first-aid training.

My question being, who can suggest some high-energy food sources with a long shelf life?

Taste dosn't matter as much as shelf life.

Also, a decent, cost-effective flashlight?

I use a light I got from lowes for 20 bucks or so as part of my EDC and wouldn't leave home without it, though it lacks a bit of power. Acts more as a low level flood light than a torch.

Check this link out:
YouTube- "Concept U.S.K." Surviving Urban Disaster Pt 1

It is a video series done by Nutnfancy. He is a gun, knife, tactical gear, and outdoor gear reviewer living in the south western US. All of his stuff is full of information, mostly unbiased, and lots of interesting concepts.

This video is speaking to a survival kit for urban situations. I have been following this guy on Youtube for quite a while now and I think he has alot of good information to put out there.

I highly reccommend his videos to anyone wanting a heap of information before investing some real money into a knife or hiking gear. (Check out the hiking boots video series for example, it gave me the info of what to look for in a proper boot)

Go with something like the mainstay (lemon flavor) or datrex (coconut flavor) bars. Gives you the calories, vitamins and minerals you need and has a 5 year shelf life.

As for the flashlight I will let someone else answer with more experience. I've got a shitload of hand cranked flashlights around the house, in the car emergency bag and in the BOB/GO/SHTF bag. They're not the brightest thing out there but they work and I know I'll never have to deal with dead batteries in the flashlights.

Pelican make nice, affordable LED flashlight that use AA batteries. They are as strong as Surefire and very rugged. They are made of strong plastic and they are submersibles.

I'd put that in my bag and keep the Surefire for the tactical usage.

I'd also pack a powerfull LED headlamp in there too. If there is no power and you need both hand to work, it's the way to go.

I can't believe I didn't see this post earlier. Anyway, to speak specifically to this:

You're right. The majority of the population has netiher the time nor the inclination to learn the necessities of survival in a world without modern conveniences.

And they will die.

It is their deaths that will restore balance, bringing the population back in line with what can reasonably be supported without reliance on national and international trade networks simply to provide enough food to feed the population.

If any domestic or international emergency interrupted the ability to move food across the country, any break in the supply chains whatsoever, we can reasonably expect to lose 90% of the population within the first year.

The figure is derived from looking at population rates prior to the exploitation of coal, oil and natural gas. As we are now dependant on those energy sources to maintain our ability to feed our population, it is reasonable to forecast a return to population levels seen prior to their availability and exploitation, and then subtract even further for all those who know nothing about surviving without today's technology and would die before critical skills can be learned.

Just came back from my first 9 hour day with St John's Ambulance - First Aid CPR Level C.

Great, invaluable information.

Gentlemen (and possibly Ladies),

I come before you today to ask for some advice.
I guess a car hit a pole out here or something, knocked out power for two city blocks for approx an hour.

During this hour we all scrambled for light sources which consisted of candles and mini LED keychain lights (powerful suckers, didnt work half bad actually).

Just looking for some advice for some decent battery flashlights (Im guessing surefire because I hear about them the most), and possibly a crank radio and crank light).

I felt exposed during this short time, my mother jumping up to the ceiling every time the house creaked going "WHAT WAS THAT?" didnt help either.

That go-bag/3 day bag looks better every day.

Question to those who did more research then I on survival subjects ...
In such scenarios the society as we know it collapses, but another one takes its place. Every one will be scrambling to get the goods and supplies they need. Specially during "bugging-out" you might realize that you need some supplies that you need are available someone else in larger quantity then they need. Such situation will create an opportunity/need for barter (for those who thinking about more uncivilized ways of getting them, please remember that any confrontation is additional risk). Will you carry some minor extra things for such occasions?
On other forums I saw some ideas that valuables like gold/silver would do ... I highly doubtful about those ... more like cigarettes and possibly alcohol if any. And I know that ALL such habits should be dropped as part of preparation ... but still others might see value in those luxury items. I know this from 1st hand experience when I was quitting smoking 3 years ago ...

2 words

toilet paper

worth more than gold .. and approaching the value of ammunition in a SHTF day after

In Russian camping/hiking community we call it "THE Book" ...
Thank you for a heads up Brian ... somehow I missed that one ...

Wow... like wow. An hour without power and you felt exposed? You're kidding right? :)

Up in northeastern BC, we've had outages that lasted about 22 hours during severe wind storms. I heard Tumbler Ridge had the power out for a couple days last winter due to a transformer outage in the substation. We had a Coleman gas lantern and camp stove and a small propane camping heater (all used with windows open to ensure adequate ventilation to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning) and they worked just fine for the short time we needed them. A couple small bottles of propane and a can of white gas could easily last several days or even weeks and it's pretty hard to beat the quantity of of light a gas lantern can produce with something battery powered (plus it also produces heat which could be a benefit if you rely on electric heating). We later ended up buying a generator but haven't had the opportunity to use it yet.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.c...=A1ARTA0009646

Winter urban survival without power is tricky. Lot of people died or got sick from innapropriate heating devices.

Maintaining your house in winter with no power is also important. Draining all your pipes and toilets of water to prevent pipe bursting, Dumping anti-freeze where the water can't be properly purged.

Security was also a must, since during the night, there was no alarms or lights working. The police was patrolling the streets, but there was some accounts of looting. Especially where there was evacuations.

My aunt was in the "black triangle". The most affected zone of the cricis. She managed to survive in her house for 1 week. Using her fireplace and consuming her rations. She ended up moving to our place, wich had it's power restaured 48h after the first day. (we lived near a hospital and old people building, wich result in very efficient power grid maintenance)

Not so much as exposed, more as in unprepared. Family didnt know where anything was.

This is why everyone should carry or have within arms length

1. source of fire
2. source of light
3. source of death

Original. I like the terminology.

I work with emergency preparedness Canada. I am producing a series of videos this year with them.

I am looking forward to seeing what they suggest for the unwashed masses.

I have my own plan up and runing for the past 20 years now.

No I will not share it with you all and let you know where I have my camp "deep in the bush."

Agreed Fox, it's critical that people using camp stoves, gas lanterns, etc... indoors provide proper ventilation, most of them were never intended for indoor use. We have a couple battery powered carbon monoxide detectors, so I felt relatively comfortable using the devices indoors with the windows cracked open a few inches. It's actually pretty crazy what people will try to do when the power is out, I've heard of people using barbecues to try to heat their houses. These stories don't usually have a happy ending.

I forgot to mention that I live about 15 minutes from the Peace Canyon dam and 40 minutes from Bennett Dam so the power outages are a bit frustrating when you consider that a significant portion of the province's power is generated just down the road. :)

Amazon.com: The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It (9780756654504): John Seymour: Books

Great book for the self starters out there. Beautiful artwork and diagrams assist the bountiful knowledge contained in the text. Best purchase I've made in years.

Funny.... nowhere in these posts has anyone mentioned the use of candles. Maybe you've heard of them... they are sticks of wax with a wick up the middle. You light the wick and the wax keeps the flame going for an extended period of time, LOL!!:p

Seriously though... its the first thing I go for when the power goes out. Flashlights are for when ya gotta go outside to take a crap!:D

Also, and this by no means is meant to discredit Wilson or anyone else, but living in Sudbury vs. Toronto or Montreal is vastly different. A total collapse in T.O. ? I shudder at the thought! I total collapse in Sudbury (my family is from Field BTW)... could be worse.

That being said, when the entire eastern seaboard went out about 5 or 6 years ago (I think) downtown Ottawa (yes I know Ottawa aint no Toronto or Montreal!) I was amazed at how much order there was. Yes, there were kiddies running around causing shit, but they do that regardless.... no, what struck me the most was driving through Chinatown near Bronson and Summerset... hords of families and people in general were just chillin outside on the street... erie as hell when there are no lights except for the ones from your vehicle, but completely peacful.

My point being, people have a habbit of surprising you when you least expect it. Would I want to be stuck at Jane and finch in a total societal collapse... probably not, but genarally speaking, I don't think that it would all that bad... at least for a little while. Once the frozen pizzas ran though.... shit... chaos!

Oh and the last thing....just a pet-peeve, but last time I heard the term "bugging out" applied it was meant as a "GTF out...NOW!!! MOVE!!" kinda thing. But like I said... just me being picky.

Yeah he isnt as good as he thinks he is. His reviews are exceptionally biased also.

Don't mean to nit-pick,but there isn't much to picking the "right" knife. I mean, if it cuts, is not made of stainless steal... pretty much anything will do.
I find most "survivalist" info a bit extreme though... a very North American thing, I've come to realize. Must be from being surrounded by millions of acres of woods or something. LOL!
Not to say that there is something wrong with being prepared... after all... I used to be a scout. ; ) But dropping heaps of cash on that type of stuff is a bit gear whorish....I know because I am one... but Im rehab so... ; )

I'm all in favor of emergency preparedness but honestly if someone is prepping for extreme survivalist stuff before they are even prepared to survive a week in their home without utilities, then that person is really just jerking off to Red Dawn fantasies with "emergency preparedness" as an excuse.

Bwahahah......Classic! :D

That site falls under the same kind of thing I was seeing up north last week - "Are You Ready" commercials from the gov't.


Makes you go... hmm.

how is that book of yours coming along wilson? i didn't forget, im still waiting for it :)