April, 2012
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Preparedness Basics: The Flashlight
You cannot get much more basic when it comes to preparedness supplies than the flashlight.
Flashlights have come a long way over the past few decades. I can remember as a child my dad having a silver flashlight that ran on 2 D-cell batteries. This silver flashlight had an external slide switch to turn on and off with a button on top of it to turn it on momentarily. Not particularly bright by today’s standards but lit up the dark whenever the power went out.
A decade or so ago the legendary Mag-Lite was the flashlight to have. Large, bright, machined aluminum – a beautiful creation. I had several as well as the AA smaller version. These worked good and were standard issue at my job. Only problem was I went through bulbs like a mouse goes through a hunk of cheese.
Over the past 5 years or so flashlights have gotten brighter and lighter. Some might say more expensive and in many cases that would be correct. I now own LED flashlights almost exclusively. Conventional bulbs work just fine but have a much shorter lifespan and consume much more energy, thus I prefer LED flashlights.
If you go to any Wal-Mart or Target you can find quite a few LED flashlights to choose from. Prices vary greatly from under $10.00 to over $30.00.
A couple things to consider if considering picking up a new light:
- Lumens – the measure of how bright the flashlight is. The higher the lumens the brighter the flashlight.
- Battery Type – AA and AAA batteries cost the least and are easy to store.
- LED – again, make sure he flashlight states it is LED. I also prefer one which has a single LED lamp rather than a collection of LED lamps. Both will work fine but the latest technology uses the single lamp.
- Run Time – some packaging will state how long the batteries will last. I do not concern myself much with this as all LED flashlights have an excellent battery life.
Streamlight Stylus Pro LED Flashlight and Holster – under $20.00
Streamlight PolyTac LED Flashlight – 130 lumens – approx $35.00
So – get yourself a few flashlights along with a bunch of extra batteries. You will be much better off than most to handle a power outage.
Now- once you get them make sure you can remember where you store them!
Rourke
YouTube Video: Required Reading for Survival
One of my favorite YouTube channels is Sootch00. Here I present another great video from Don (aka Sootch).
Sootch shows a great selection of books and I own most of these myself.
Here is the rundown:
Surviving the Economic Collapse
The Doom and Bloom Survival Medical Handbook
Patriots - Surviving the Coming Collapse
Lights Out is an excellent read. Great fictional story based on an EMP attack and struggles one community goes through.
Take care all -
Rourke
Redundancy
Redundancy is one of those terms often thrown around survival blogs and forums – so why not here.
Two is one, and One is none- a simple definition for Redundancy. Redundancy involves having backups and alternatives so that in the event of an equipment failure, loss, or absence – the “mission” can still go on. In a word……every piece of equipment should have a backup, and that backup should have a backup, and so on.
Let’s look at a few examples:
- Water - One might store gallons of water in jugs, bottles or other containers. Eventually that will run out. So next you have a large water purifier/filtration. Next, in case something happens to that – or you have to bug out without it – you may have a portable water filter.
- Fire- One might have a bunch of matches stored. Next, a few Bic lighters. After that, a magnesium fire-starter. Loose the matches – get the lighter. Lighters run out – move on to the fire-starter. You see how it works.
- Defense - One might have a rifle or a shotgun to defend themselves. Next, a pistol. Next – maybe even another pistol. Then, a knife or a stick. Lastly – you have your bare hands.
Got it?
Redundancy is often practiced unknowingly by survivalist who are just preparing for the worst. It is something I am working on improving in my “survival system” all the time. You have to strategically look at your preps and not just get a lot off stuff. Get a lot of stuff to back up your other stuff.
I love stuff.
Rourke
Originally posted HERE.
A few words from Rourke…..
First, I appreciate everyone that stops by and checks us out here. The site is very new however I can see some traffic coming in once in a while.
Next – my plan all along was to post two or three times per week. I have done a bit more than that but due to time constraints will likely reduce to that.
I plan to post relevant video’s each weekend on both Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully everyone will find some good information from them. I personally love YouTube video’s. There is such a huge variety of topics that are covered.
Lastly and I hate doing this but what the heck. Anything you can do to help spread the word of this site would really be appreciated. Mentioning SeasonedCitizenPrepper.com at different forums you may frequent or on Facebook, Twitter, etc. would be appreciated.
I appreciate all of you and that is the God’s honest truth!!!! Take care.
Rourke
No excuse method for growing some vegetables……..
Alright everyone, for those saying they just cannot afford special grow buckets and raised beds to grow some vegetables here is a super cheap way to get started.
I actually saw this on Facebook and thought it was a great idea.
See diagram below:
Click to Enlarge
Credit goes to greenroofgrowers.blogspot.com for the diagram.
I have grown many vegetables in containers including tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, and zucchini. I can see the illustrated system above working just fine for tomatoes and smaller plants like peppers. I think zucchini is possible as well. Due to the narrow nature of the container and it being so top heavy as the plants grows it would be a good idea that they are somehow supported. It would not be good to have your wonderful tomato plant slam against the ground when the wind blows.
If anyone tries these out I would love to receive some pictures. Email me – emergencycd(at)gmail.com.
Rourke
A few thoughts on water filtration……
Walk into any Wal-Mart and you can find a wide array of water filters. Each of these water filters have marketing propaganda all over the packaging describing how clean the water will be with usage of the product. Are the claims true? Can these filters and purification systems be useful in a survival situation?
The short answer for me is “maybe”.
The common household water filter can remove certain contaminants from water. Let me rephrase that – “The common household water filter can remove certain contaminants from water that is already pretty clean to start with.” In a SHTF situation whereby water is not coming from a faucet after treatment by the city but rather from a rain barrel, puddle, lake, pond etc. – a Brita water filter for example just will not ensure the water is safe. The Brita and other similar filter will remove larger particles out of the water thus improving the taste but will absolutely leave behind biological threats. Any questionable water source can contain a liquid zoo of microorganisms ready wreak havoc on your body once ingested.
Thirsty yet?
So, does the Brita variety of water filters have any post-SHTF purpose. Sure. Water that is rendered safe via boiling and/or Clorox bleach may still have dirt and other crap in it. A Brita water filter would assist in “cleaning” the water up. Of course there are other methods as well. Another usefulness of a common, inexpensive Brita-type system is it may have a high barter-value after TSHTF.
Lastly – I will tell you that I do not have have any of these systems. Rather I have chosen to utilize a Berkey Water System which can take water from pretty much any source and filter out the worst stuff and provide crystal clear water. The Big Berkey’s provide low to high volume water purification second to none. Additionally – I have a Berkey Sport Water Bottle for filtration on the go and several backpacking solutions such as this, this and this.
Redundancy is good.
Rourke
Video: A budget WROL arsenal
Just saw this video from SouthernPrepper1 on YouTube. Thought it was great and wanted to pass it on. Firearms on a budget – great survival & preparedness budget.
Take care all – Rourke
D5 Creation