BOB

Review: UVPaqlite and ToobLite Glow Sticks

• 03 Mar 2012
• Jayce
• 2 responses

ToobLite Mini with a Paracord lanyard and Turks Head knot.

At times when I’m building up my various forms of disaster kits, I want to throw you hands up in frustration at how reliant I am on different forms of technology. As much as I enjoy the outdoors I’m always bending it back to my more technological side. While this may make things more fun, accurate, or whatever other benefits I get, it also makes me dependent on power.

A great example of this is my need for light outdoors. Now sure we’d like to never be reliant on non-natural light forms, but it’s a reality. Even if you just have a midnight bathroom run once and a while, there are times that you need light. Historically of course, man has relied on fire to provide this light, and now we have flashlights to give us nice, portable light whenever we want, provided we have charged batteries.

(more…)

Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, Evacuation Kits, G.O.O.D. Bags, gear, light, Lightning, preps, Reviews

Emergency kits for young school age children

• 15 Nov 2011
• ekim
• 0 responses

Like most preppers my family has 72 hour kits for each member of our family. We try to keep the consumable items in them rotated, work to ensure that the spare clothes in them are seasonal and fit, etc. Since my children are too young to be in school right now, I haven’t spent too much time considering how I will handle a “get home”, “bug out” or 72 hour kit for each child once they are spending a significant amount of their day in a state run education center. I also need to consider the restrictive policies in place these days regarding what is “dangerous” per current school policies. This begs the question, as a prepper, how do you handle emergency kits for young school age children when they are away from the home?
(more…)

Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, EDC, Evacuation Kits, G.O.O.D. Bags, gear, Links, preparedness

Goal0 Guide 10 Power Kit

• 04 Nov 2011
• Jayce
• 3 responses

Recently I wrote a bit about my new toys, a varied set of Goal0 solar and battery products. One of the key pieces that I bought was their 7m folding solar panels. This well-designed kit provided 7-watts of peak solar power in a tiny kit that could easily strap on to my backpack and provide charging throughout the day for small devices. The kit I bought also included their ‘rockbox’ speaker set, a small set of speakers that that have a built in battery, but easily charge from this small panel.

As handy as the device is, there were some shortcomings.  First off, the device I most wanted to use on it is extremely finicky with what it allows to charge (yeah, it’s an iPhone), and the variability of solar electricity meant that the iPhone didn’t like accepting the charge.  Secondly, some of my devices simply take AA or AAA batteries, and I didn’t have a good charger that would run off the USB adaptor that the 7m provides.

Thankfully there is a relatively new product that addresses these shortcomings, their Goal0 Guide 10.  In short, it’s a battery charger, that doubles as a combined power pack for those devices you would most likely charge from the panel. (more…)

Tags: 72 Hour Kits, Battery, BOB, Evacuation Kits, gear, preps, Reviews, solar, solar panel

Potassium Iodide (KI) and How to Protect Yourself From Radiation Poisoning

• 15 Mar 2011
• phil801
• 3 responses

With the current potential nuclear crisis in Japan, I have been inundated with questions about Fallout Survival, Nuclear Preparedness, General Preparedness and Potassium Iodide among many other things.  I realized that while a lot of these things are covered on Utah Preppers, Potassium Iodide is kind of glossed over.  This post is my answer to all those questions and should be a definitive post on KI or Potassium Iodide.  Please note: at this time, due to the crisis in Japan, KI is Sold Out pretty much everywhere.

Potassium Iodide or KI is a salt of iodine and is what the body uses to make thyroid hormones.  If you are exposed to radioactive iodine through fallout , your thyroid will quickly absorb it into your thyroid and cause serious problems.  By super loading your thyroid with safe iodine via Potassium Iodide you can minimize your bodies absorption of radioactive iodine.  It should be noted that Potassium Iodide is NOT a cure for radiation sickness nor will it prevent other problems that will occur from fallout or radioactive exposure.

(more…)

Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, First Aid, Nuclear Survival, Nuke Preps

Utah survival example in the news

• 09 Mar 2011
• ekim
• 1 response

There is an interesting example of Winter survival in the news today courtesy of KSL.

While these young men made an initial mistake that got them lost, they managed to remain calm and focused on survival. Creating a snow cave, starting a fire, etc. are all useful skills and as this example clearly shows can help to keep you alive.

Another aspect of preparedness is learning from our mistakes and other’s examples. In this case, if they had their avalanche beacon and some other gear, (perhaps some EDC items, or an emergency kit)  they would have been located much sooner or not been lost in the first place, and been more comfortable while waiting for rescue.

Read the article and absorb any information you can so you can use that information if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

Tags: Article, BOB, EDC, Links, preparedness, preps, Survival, Winter

Starting a Fire with Steel Wool

• 04 Feb 2011
• phil801
• 0 responses

Continuing my Heat and Light Series, today we’re going to look at an alternative way to start a fire – with Steel Wool and Batteries.  Like I’ve said in previous posts in this series, this is probably something that every old Boy Scout and every long time Prepper already knows.  The point of this series is to get back to basics and cover things that new Preppers will need to get up to speed on – and to remind some of you about the skills and knowledge you have that you may have forgotten.  :) (more…)

Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, Education, Fire, Howto, preps

Making Fire Starting Candles

• 28 Jan 2011
• phil801
• 3 responses

Continuing my series on Light and Heat, today I’m going to talk about making Fire Starting Candles.  There are a variety of ways to do this, today we’re going to cover using cardboard egg cartons and dryer lint or cotton balls.  This particular project will likely already be familiar to experienced Preppers and Boy Scouts.  This post is aimed at those new to prepping who have never been exposed to this kind of thing.

Being able to start a fire is absolutely critical in many potential situations.  It can literally mean the difference between life and death.  Knowing many ways to be able to start a fire is an essential survival skill, practicing and maintaining those skills is just as essential.  (more…)

Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, Fire, fire starting, heat, light, preparedness, Survival

The night of the Herriman (Machine Gun) Fire

• 04 Oct 2010
• Doran Barton
• 4 responses

Tags: BOB, EDC, emergency preparedness, evacuation, Evacuation Kits, Fire, Herriman Fire, house, preparedness

Bug out/Camping/Utility Trailer

• 17 Aug 2010
• ekim
• 5 responses

I’ve been wanting to get out camping more often, but I suspect like many have had trouble convincing my wife to give camping a try. For some reason, sleeping on the hard, cold ground doesn’t appeal to her.

Buying a dedicated camper, pop-up tent, RV would be nice, but they are generally more than I want to spend, are single purpose and often require separate registration here in Utah. I often find a need for a small utility trailer for hauling mulch, compost, etc. and here in Utah, smaller trailers under a certain weight and size don’t need to be registered. When I obtained an old home built utility trailer recently, I decided to jump head first into a home built adventure trailer build.

(more…)

Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, Camping, DIY, Evacuation Kits, G.O.O.D. Bags, gear

Great story of prepping and survival on Investors.com

• 02 Aug 2010
• ekim
• 1 response

Believe it or not, the investing web site investors.com has a great article about prepping and survival.

Read the article here.

This Navy flier can be a good example for all of us. He knew that there was always the possibility that he would be shot down and that he would need to survive. Rather than bury his head in the sand and ignore the issue, he reviewed the survival kit he was issued as a Navy aviator and supplemented it to meet his personal needs. When other pilots saw him doing this, they took a second look at their own kits and began doing the same thing.

This brings up another good lesson. Without sacrificing OPSEC we can be an example of preparedness to those around us. If someone is new to prepping and seems interested, try to foster that interest and get them on their way to self sufficiency.

What have YOU done to prepare you and your family today?

Tags: BOB, Links, Preppers, preps

What we are doing this Spring

• 31 Mar 2010
• ekim
• 3 responses

Courtesy Marin Magazine

If my allergies are any indication, Spring has sprung. This means it is time for Daylight Saving Time, spring cleaning, starting gardens and other activities.

What are the UtahPreppers up to?
(more…)

Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, Community, Food Storage, Gardening, gear, Networks, Preppers, preps

Prepping for Work Disasters

• 17 Nov 2009
• Joseph
• 4 responses

We had an emergency at work today, involving a critical server that was not properly cared for by its department. Due to the severity of the situation, I was called in to help recover the server. I had to go pick up the server from the data center and bring it back to to office to work on it. It was important enough that my boss offered to let me take his car, a 2006 Cadillac CTS. I think he was a little surprised when I declined, in favor of driving my 1998 Corolla instead.
(more…)

Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, EDC, G.O.O.D. Bags, preparedness, preps