Evacuation Kits

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.

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

Review: Wrap-It-Ice Bandages

• 14 Nov 2011
• Jayce
• 1 response

Wrap-It-Ice by Shield-Safety

Today I decided to write a little review on a product that I really wish I didn’t have to do. The reason for this is not for a lack of quality in the product, but the fact that I actually needed to use it. Yes, this is a first-aid bandage that I’ve had sitting in my cabinet waiting until needed, and now it is.

Several months ago I met with Mike at Shield-Safety, and went through their sales pitch about some first-aid products they had.  While a lot of what they did was not new, they had several things that did pique my interest and stand out as something I wanted to buy. Now I’m not normally a person to give into a home sales pitch, but the Shield-Safety people approached us a little bit differently, they taught first-aid basics, and how to actually use the different items that you should have available in a home first-aid station. One of the products they had that got my attention was a sealed wrap for sprains. (more…)

Tags: Evacuation Kits, First Aid, gear, Medical, Medical Prep, Medicine, Reviews

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

Post Japan Earthquake Notes

• 24 Mar 2011
• Jayce
• 3 responses

One of the most important skills as a prepper is the ability to learn from our experiences and mistakes. Additionally, examples of others doing the same can help us learn the same lessons without having to go through the experience. To that end, I’m posting in an email that was forwarded to me, second-hand from the source.  The email is from a lady whose family is currently stationed in Japan, and relates their experiences with the earthquake.  What I like best in this is her own analysis on her preparedness level, and what she wishes she could do better.

Email edited for screen readability only (spacing), and redacting names.

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Tags: 72 Hour Kits, Evacuation Kits, Food Storage, preparedness, preps, Survival, Water

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.

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

Product First Look – PolyFarm MonoVault

• 15 Oct 2009
• ekim
• 4 responses

In a previous post we introduced the concept of burial or sinking to disguise or otherwise hide equipment, weapons or other preps. Today we will take a first look the MonoVault line of products by PolyFarm of Meridian Idaho.

Three MonoVaults, 107, 212 and 152

Recently, some of the Utah Preppers authors met at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Salt Lake City. This is where we first met PolyFarm. After some discussions to learn about their production, they were kind enough to provide us with sample of one of their smaller MonoVaults to review and to beat up with some tests. I really like the idea of the product so I purchased a couple larger sizes so that we will be able to review several different sizes.
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Tags: burial systems, Evacuation Kits, gear, Links, PolyFarm, preps, Storing Systems

Burying a gun or other preps

• 07 Oct 2009
• ekim
• 6 responses

Mossberg 500 JIC

I have to admit that I have been a little obsessed with finding a decent option for burying, sinking or otherwise hiding a firearm and other preps since I first saw Mossberg’s Just In Case line of products a number of years ago.
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Tags: Evacuation Kits, Firearms, G.O.O.D. Bags, Guns, Links, Nuclear Survival, Nuke Preps, preps, Reviews, Storing Systems, Survival

Bug Out Vehicle Project

• 28 Sep 2009
• phil801
• 26 responses

The Bug Out Vehicle (BOV) is an essential part of every preppers inventory.  It is the means by which, should we find ourselves in a SHTF scenario, you will get you and your family to safety.  It should be able to not only provide reliable transportation for the family, but to haul all the gear you plan to take with you.  Alternatively it can also provide shelter, depending on your needs and how you see yourself bugging out.

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Tags: BOV, Bug Out Vehicle, Evacuation Kits, Storing Systems

Emergency Preparedness Priorities

• 09 Jul 2009
• royal
• 2 responses

Our physical needs prioritized – The Rule of 3′s:

1. 3 minutes without Air or Blood
2. 3 hours without Shelter/Warmth
3. 3 days without Water
4. 3 weeks without Food

But, you won’t be bleeding or without air in every emergency situation so this list is not perfectly prioritized and it is lacking some priorities.

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Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, Education, Evacuation Kits, G.O.O.D. Bags, Lists, Preppers, preps, Priorities, Survival

Evacuation/Emergency Combat Readiness

• 16 Jun 2009
• phil801
• 17 responses

Paris rioters in 2008

This is the seventh installment of the Evacuation Preparedness Kit Series.  The first post, on Evac Prep Basics is here, and the second post, which introduces the Evac Prep Master List is here.  The third post, and the first post on the list review is here.  This post will cover Combat Readiness.

Contrary to the belief of some, being a Prepper is NOT synonymous with being well armed and ready to protect yourself and your preps in a violent situation.  However, this article is specifically about being prepared to defend yourself, your family and your preps if it comes down to it.

History shows us that when things go bad we can expect riots, looters, roving gangs of marauders and plenty of random acts of armed violence.  We have witnessed this just this week with the riots in Iran that ended in violence.  Or we can look at the looting during Hurricane Katrina, rioting and looting during the L.A. Rodney King riots, the French riots (pictured above) and several others.

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Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, Combat Readiness, EDC, Evacuation Kits, Firearms, G.O.O.D. Bags