Beginning Survivalist

Possible tent for the BOB?
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=328395

http://www.headblade.com/

Something to look into. Certinally save on hair cuts.

http://www.survivalistnews.com/

Interesting link I found.

There is a store out there at http://www.888knivesrus.com/ that has some very shady business practices. I would recommend every one I know stay away from this business if you happen to be searching for hunting and/or camping equipment.
A couple of guy's on the board I hang out on ( http://zombiehunters.org ) ordered some stuff from them, and after the order was confirmed the company came back through and doubled the price of the item. (from $10 to $20). As such I will not ever be ordering anything from them, and I am recommending the same to all my friends/family.

http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=32126&sid=d6e11abc76de57229359a62f1b599c21

That is a link to a listing of pod casts on survival topics. I am away from home right now as previously noted, so I will have to check into that once I get back.

http://nutristorage.com/

They have buckets with 275 servings of food per bucket. Something to look into. They also offer samples so that will be the first step. Get some samples and try them out.

How important is planning? What order should you prepare things in?

You can survive three minutes without air.
You can survive three hours in extreme weather conditions without shelter.
You can survive three days without water before organs start to shut down
You can survive three weeks without food before the body starts to fall apart.
You can survive three months without hope.

All right, as promised, tips and observations from the biggest city in America.

I'm out of town on a business trip. This is my first time in New York City as an adult, and let me tell you, its nothing, at all like Texas.

People here are way rude. They don't like you and they don't have any problem letting you know they don't like you. Even if you go into some place where you are trying to purchase something, the sales people are rude. The best way I have found to counter this is to ignore it. Just act like it didn't happen.

Having said that, one thing I must caution people on is being nice to New Yorkers. If you are nice to one of them, they look at you like you are crazy. So all the things your mom taught you, about holding doors for people, saying please and thank you, saying bless you after somebody sneezes, and things of that nature.. None of that applies here. Ignore people just like they ignore you.

On getting around in the city. It's best to have someone who knows the area with you. If you can't get that, then it's best to explore in small areas. Always keeping track of which way you turn, and which direction you are heading in. Retrace your steps when you get done. Don't try to take any short cuts or anything of that nature because with how messed up the streets are, chances are you will only end up lost. There are some places that are blocked off to the public, even though it would be easy to walk or drive through them. That's why it is best to just retrace your steps, you know you can get back that way for sure.

That leads me to my next point, which is be prepared to walk a lot. In New York City a majority of the population does not own cars. There are more bikes here than there are cars. Altranate means of transportation can be the subway, but be very careful, because they are very confusing. Make sure to read all signs and pay attention to what they say. Look closely. And while it's not advisable to have to ask somebody, it is an option as a last resort. However don't ask MTA employee's and they tend to be very unhelpful. Ask fellow passengers. Particularly older ladies who are by themselves, and in this instance do be polite.

If you have to walk through a rough neighborhood, don't sweat it. Try not to look nervous, and do try to look like you know exactly where you are going, even if you don't. Don't stop to ask for directions, and don't stop to consult a map. If a map must be looked at, try to do it somewhere out of the way. A store bathroom if possible, but not some place where you could get trapped if other people see you there. If possible have a partner with you, someone you can conversate with to keep from looking at other people.

Which is a great segway into my next point. Keep an eye on everyone around you while at the same time trying not to look directly at anyone. In New York City staring people down can be seen as a challenge, that could lead you into a situation where you get noticed. And I guess i should say your primary goal is not to be noticed. Try and do everything you can not to be noticed. Keep looking around you constantly. Always have a plan of escape. Always keep it in your mind some place you can run to if need be.

Having said that, don't put anything in your back pockets. I've not been robbed or anything like it since I got here, but I have on at least 2 occasions, been reasonably certain i felt someone try to pick pocket my back pocket, where I normally carry a wallet. On both occasions I was in a very crowded area geared towards tourists. I had the sense to keep all of my personal items in the front pockets of my pants, or in my back pack. If someone were trying to mess with my back pack I would have been able to feel it, and all the important items were sipped up insaide another zippered pocket, so there is no way someone could have gotten into one of the outer pockets through the zipper, and then through another zipper into the inner pockets without me noticing, not to mention the time it would have taken to do all that. I'll cover more about the backpack in a moment. For now I will just say, don't carry a wallet, and don't carry anything in your back pockets unless you don't mind getting it stolen. (I did keep some touristy type brocures back there, but no one stole those, lol).

Always try to keep as little information and money on you as reasonably possible. For example, whenever I leave my hotel room I keep in mind what I'm leaving for. Like if I'm going to go do touristy type stuff I might take $50 with me, and leave other money in the hotel room. Unless say, I were doing souvinier shopping. Then I might take $100 in cash with me (and we'll cover why cash in a moment) but I would also take my debit card so I can hit up an ATM if i need to. My pockets typically consist of the following items:
Drivers Liscense (for ID, I've had to show it several times, on me at all times)
Cash (as little as possible for what I have planned.)
Debit Card (with me at all times, unless I am going out for dinner)
Corporate Credit Card (with me for when I'm going to buy dinner only)
Room Card (the key to get into my room, i keep it with me at all times)
Work badge (with me whenever i'm headed to work, back in the room at all other times)
Cell Phone (with me at all times. period.)

Anything not in my pockets got left at the hotel in the in room safe, that i could program my own code into. Do not trust your house keeping staff no matter how nice they might seem. All money and valuables need to be locked in your in room safe whenever you are not there. If your room doesn't have a safe, the hotel itself will. Take it to the hotel safe, and make sure you get a reciept for every single item that goes into that safe. Have 50 cents going into their safe? make sure that reciept says "two (2) quarters" on it. Trust no one, esp. hotel staff. They are barely getting paid min. wage, and in some cases (bell hops) getting paid under min. wage. It would make their day to be able to steal your laptop. I would go so far as to say anything that's worth more than about $5 needs to be locked up in the safe.

Cash. A very important item to have in New York. Let me stress this. MOST PLACES DON'T TAKE CARDS! I've had places say no they wouldn't take a credit card but they would be willing to take a check. Most places won't even do that. Expect to have to pay cash for everything you buy. If you can use a card, hey, great, do it, if for nothing else if whatever you bought turns out to be crap then maybe you can dispute the charges.

Since you are paying cash for everything however, it makes it a lot easier to negotiate with street vendors. I've probably saved somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 to $100 by negotiating street vendors down from their asking price. If someone tells you the cost of something, and you don't like it, and they don't seem willing to negotiate, just walk away. Half the time you do that they will suddenly become willing to negotiate. But also be prepared that if they don't want to negotiate, to be able to walk away from the deal.

The last item i will write about today is the need for a backpack. I am going to start carrying around a backpack with me daily from now on once I get back home, but having said that, at home it is not a requirement of daily life. In New York City, with all the walking around you do, having one is a requirement for daily survival. It allows you to keep important items with you that you might not want others to know you have. IT allows you to carry items you buy much more easily than in store bought plastic bags. Also if you are a tree hugging hippie, it saves petrol, and landfill space to keep a bag with you that you can reuse. There have been several occasions that I've had to haul stuff on my back because my coworkers forgot to bring their back packs with them when we went out sight seeing, and picking up stuff for the people back home. One of them is even a native New Yorker and knows the benefit of having a back pack with him at all times.

I think this covers a majority of what I have learned here. I may update with a few other things later on if i think of them, but these are the most important parts.

 It has been a little while since I have posted. I've been out of town recently, but even while out of town I have managed to pick up a couple of new items that will help me towards becoming a more seasoned survivalist.

Also at some point I will have some tips for surviving in one of the worlds biggest cities, which is what I've been doing the past couple of weeks. In the mean time I was able to get online and order some new gear. The first item up is a bail out bag from Countycomm. I've heard good things about this bag in several reviews. I got it in Coyote Brown for the color. Here are a couple of pics.

 

It's primary use will be a range bag for holding guns, ammo, all my range gear, stuff like that. I have a back pack that I have been using for that purpose, but as I want the back pack to be more of an every day carry bag I wanted something different for all the ammo, and mags. Also I took the back pack with me on the afore mentioned trip, and had to go over it with a fine toothed comb to make sure there wasn't any stray ammo running around in it. It's a good thing I did too, because I found a 9mm bullet in there. I don't think airport security would have liked that very much. Once I have this bag I won't need to worry about things like that.

Features of the bag:
-Only YKK brand zippers and real Velcro used throughout
-Hidden full size gun pocket with Velcro for easy access.
-Two adjustable side pockets for radios.
-Large main pocket has a removable stiffener/divider system to organize gear.
-"Stinger/Surefire"(tm) pocket.
-Two pen pockets.
-Tactical illuminator pocket.
-Four accessory pockets for gun magazines, etc with Velcro closures.
-Large side zippered pocket for wallet, passport, keys and other valuables.
-The bag measures approximately 14" x 10" x 6"
-Padded Removable Shoulder Strap.
-Carry Handles Of Heavy Nylon Webbing, Running The Entire length and across the bottom for extra secure support.
-Large YKK Zippers. (Note: Corded Zipper Pulls that are shown in above photos have been deleted in latest revision bag. Putting Cord on zipper pulls is truely a item left to personal preference)
-Velcro Patch on side pocket to attach name tape, flight suit tag or unit patch.

Manufactured by Maratac, For County Comm

The next item I picked up was a new knife. I've found several situations where having one would have been handy, and I wasn't prepared, and either had to use a steak knife from the kitchen drawer, or hurt myself trying to do something. After reading several reviews I decided on a Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops CK6A. Here's a picture of it.




Features of the knife:
Blade Detail : Plain
Blade Length (inches) : 3.88
Blade Material : 440C
Carry System : Pocket Clip
Handle Material : Aluminum
Lock Style : Liner Lock
Overall Length (inches) : 9.03
Weight: 5.10 ounce

This knife will become a part of my every day carry. Hopefully I have both of these items waiting for me when I get home from this trip.

 1.) Field strip MRE’s before putting them in your pack. You can fit three times as many in the same space!

2.) You can survive weeks without food but only days without water. Food is never your first priority. If no water is available refrain from eating as water is required for digestion.

3.) Use a fuel additive like Sta-bil to keep gasoline fresh for up to a year or more.

4.) If you ever charged by a Grizzly or Brown bear drop to the ground face down with your legs tucked to your chest, cover the back of your neck with your hands and play dead. They will outrun you if you flee and bears can climb trees.

5.) If you are lost the best thing to do is stop. Sit down and consider your situation. In most cases it is better to remain in one spot and let rescuers find you.

6.) Avoid wearing cotton in colder climates it loses all of its insulation value if it gets wet. In cold weather wool is the way to go.

7.) Birch bark is fantastic tinder and will burn even when wet because of the oil it contains.

8.) When hiking wear a thin pair of nylon or polyester socks underneath your wool socks, it will help with rubbing and prevent blisters.

9.) Pack large contractor garbage bags when you go hiking or camping and throw a couple in your survival kit. They make great pack liners, emergency rain gear, emergency shelter, rain catch, etc.

10.) Always make plenty of noise when traveling in bear country. This will lessen the chance of you surprising them which could result in an attack.

11.) Take a first aid/CPR course it could save the life of someone you love.

12.) Always tell someone where you are planning on going if you head into the woods. If possible give them a map with a planned route you will be following. Tell them when you expect to be back so they can notify authorities if you are overdue. (Don’t forget to let them know when you do come back!)

13.) Always have a full tank of gas in your vehicle.

14.) Always store flammable liquids, such as fuel, away from you main dwelling.

15.) Take your generator out once a month and run it for 5 minutes to prevent hard starts and keep everything lubed.

16.) Clean your dryer lint trap and hose at least once a year to prevent fires. Keep the lint it makes great tinder.

17.) You can water proof your own matches by dipping them in melted paraffin or nail polish.

18.) Never…NEVER…drink water right from a lake, pond or stream without first purifying it by either boiling it for 10 minutes (safest) or purifying it with bleach or iodine.

19.) Headlamps are better than flashlights as your hands will be free to manipulate objects.

20.) Make delicious and nutritious tea from pine needles. Place a sprig in the water and boil.

21.) If your feet are cold put on a hat.

22.) You can fix anything with duct tape: know it, use it and love it.

23.) When heading outdoors, don’t forget sunscreen and bug dope. You have a much more pleasant experience I assure you.

24.) Hang your food and garbage suspended from a tree branch. Never store food in your tent and try to cook away from your campsite. This will prevent unwelcome “furry” visitors.

25.) Don’t skimp when purchasing a knife; buy the best you can afford. A good quality fixed blade is an invaluable tool that will serve you for many years. Always carry your knife when headed into the bush.

26.) Zombies must be shot in the head; it’s the only way to be sure, so don’t waste ammo on body shots. (most important rule here! -Randy)

27.) Unless you are en expert or can ID a mushroom with 100% certainty don’t eat wild mushrooms, they can kill you.

28.) Cattails are easily identifiable, edible and found all across America. They actually taste good too.

29.) Bugs are an excellent source of protein. As a general rule: if it’s brightly colored or smells bad avoid eating it. Grasshoppers, locusts and large crickets should be cooked to kill parasites.

30.) Compost – save the planet and feed your garden all in one fell swoop.

From here

James.. Opinions?