Any fellow survivalists utilize their truck?

True! Read on another board that someone reflected that their Father's rantings of conspiracies and craziness turned out to be true!!! Yes, with shows like "Doomsday Preppers" (a joke and a shame for NatGeo but popular) and the interest in "prepping" speaks to the feeling among even the sheeple that something may be amiss. Many have never called it "prepping" but have just known it was better to have what you needed before you needed it....

Stay safe & Prep On!!!

 

if you ever go mountain biking on technical single track you will understand the need for massive amounts of light

My first night ride I had a 160lm light and I felt really blind.
Ive also got a smaller headlamp (black diamond) that is really nice. two sets of leds, one for distance and one for up close and both are adjustable by holding the power button down to dim or brighten.

Black Diamond Spot Headlamp (Titanium)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FND2JI/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I will never do a ride that technical in the dark. Just like I will never swim naked, blindfolded and bleeding with sharks. I value my life.

 

Everyone talks about bug out gear and food stores, but those only last so long. Whats the plan for 3-4 years down the road? Have you found a way to provide food for your family longterm? If you look at the seeds you can buy online, they have a shelf life that is significantly shorter than your MREs.


Outside of potatoes, how do you successfully cultivate seeds with a high enough success rate to keep new supplies for the following growing seasons? Most of the packets you buy at local stores have about a 70% germination success rate and that significantly declines after year one and year two. After two years, they do not guarantee the seeds.




Thoughts?

 

That

Fenix HL30 Headlamp-200 Lumens

Fenix HL30 I linked earlier is nearly 3x brighter on the brightest setting, has a top strap (important if you're active at all) and takes two AA batteries as opposed to 3 AAA batteries that are more readily available, more powerful (hence 200 lumens) and last longer. The white LED is adjustable for brightness and the housing itself pivots for being able to aim it wherever you need it and there is a red LED for sparing your night vision if you need a little light but don't want to lose your night vision. The beam/pattern/throw is perfect for all uses I've needed it for too.

 

I will bug in if at all possible. I know my home, have secured it and have just about everything I need right here to provide for my wife and I for a looong time. If it becomes prolonged or something forces me out of my home I will likely head a few hours away to my buddy's place in Nebraska. He's a rancher/farmer and also a gun nut like myself so we'll be set for a few generations on his land with his resources and all of us working the land. Too many people talk about bugging out like it's their first choice and I think that's poor planning. Your first plan should be to bug IN and bugging out should be a last ditch effort for survival.

 

Very cool. I like the top strap on it too. If I ever get another headlamp that will be it.

 

for me its different, im in phoenix az, but on the out skirts. i dont plan on staying in at all.
there will be chaos and looting if shit really hits the fan. im mainly worried about a EMP.

imagine a bunch of people about to die because they have no food? they will go through every house just to find food. yes that means they will try yours too. then once they see you have something worth protecting, they will want it.
if your out in the sticks its different, but i plan on getting the hell out of dodge, away from the city.

Idealy i would like to live at my bug out location, but where i live is just not practical

and to the guy talking about no food after 4 or 5 years. i have thought alot about that. alot about seeds, but i didnt even think about what you said... i would love to hear some insight on that.

after a few years of people out hunting for food, there wont be any small or large game left.... got to think outside the box

 

I'm sure you'll like it if you do.

I highlighted the operative word in your post above. I'm much safer barricaded in in my home than I am out in the open.

 

yes you are right, they can only try.

have you guys read the book one second after?
i Highly highly recommend it. it will scare the shit out of you and open your eyes

 

Eventually the pile of bodies outside the house will act as yet another form of defense and quite the warning sign.

 

That may work if your not in a major metropolitan area. However once the stores run out of food, people will get hungry, then desperate. There is little to / no defense in suburbia. If your house is on fire... you have to come out.. then your dead. Granted that is in the case of a major event. For something small like a black out, bugging in and weather a storm or a week or two is an entirely different planning model.


Think major event. Solar Flare like the Carrington Event in 1859. This would be a long term event requiring months if not years to recover from on a global level.

 

1) I don't live in a major metropolitan area & that's one of the big reasons and...

2) I've already got a backup contingency better than most but it would take a life or death reason to force me out of my home.

 

We all plan for something a little different. I use to be worried about EMP and wide scale shtf but not so much anymore. I mostly prep for bad weather, small local problems, vehicle breaking down on a road trip or out in the country. to each their own

 

Might ruffle some feathers here. I have mentioned it before. FIREARMS are great!, but there is a shelf life on the AMMO also.

Should never solely rely on a firearm.

I keep and use QUALITY Air rifles. Not the cheapie store bought ones. High Powered PCP or break barrels.

Also, I keep archery equipment. I know how to 'fletch' and could make my own arrows and bolts if need be. My crossbow, I have many strings and have researched how t make my own strings if the need arose for it.

My bow, I have made strings and arrows for it.

The Air Rifles, I have also made my own pellets for. Using a mold and melting lead.

Brings up another point. Know how and where to source the additional stuff you need to make the projectiles. Wheel weights, fishing weights, Razor blades.

Learn how to properly sharpen a knife...

As far as food seeds go. I have plants growing in unlikely places all around the area I am in and plant things in the 'Johnny Appleseed' manner when I am out and about in good areas. I feel it is MORE important to know what veggitation is edible.

Our back yard is not flowers and orchids. We plant edible plants and fruiting trees all the time. Encouraged the neighbors and the local Home Owners associations to do the same. Figs, plumbs, apples, pears, eggplant, asparagus, pepper mint, garlic, dill, basil, pepper, potatoe, cumquat, squash(s), peppers, beans, greens, couple people are even growing CORN in their small plots. Just a few of the items.\\\

 

^great input Skygear. I would love to have fruit trees here but we are in a drought and unable to water anything. I hope to move states within the next 3-5 years.

 

This also. Ive made my wife and all the women in my family "get home bags" last christmas. They loved them! haha

 

You would be surprised on what some places use for landscaping. I remember growing up in an area. They used colored/ decorative cabbage and lettuce in the landscaping. In another area, they planted fruiting Palm trees, jackfruits, pineapple, mango, avocado and various citrus.

In that area, a close family friend grew grapes.

 

Behind my back seats, I use the area as a pantry and storage for a stove and some other essentials. Constantly am using the food from back there and replacing it. Canned goods and dry goods.


I plan on the Insulating and sound deadening mods in the next month.