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Sensation-Free Ebola Facts

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In the medical field, other than death, nothing is absolute. One radio interviewer told me recently he would never be comfortable about the Ebola risks until we knew absolutely everything about it and there was zero risk for everyone. Guess what. He’s never going to be comfortable.

Part of the Ebola fear fuel in America right now is the fact that we don’t know everything about this disease. And when questions arise, people come out of the woodwork with answers, whether they know what they’re talking about or not. Often, their answers boil down to: Well, we don’t know, but maybe, and if so, yikes!

Learn what we know about Ebola right now at thesurvivaldoctor.com.

Read More Sensation Free Ebola Facts-Click Here

2 Ways To Connect With Your Family After A Disaster

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September 2015 is National Preparedness Month. Each week has its own theme to prepare your family in the event of a disaster. Part of any emergency preparedness plan should be how to reconnect with your family in the event you’re separated after an incident such as an earthquake, flood, tornado or terrorist attack.

Your family may not be together when a disaster strikes so it is important to plan in advance: how you will get to a safe place; how you will contact one another; how you will get back together; and what you will do in different situations. Read more about Family Communication during an emergency.

Ready.gov has made it simple for you to make a family emergency plan. Download the Family Communication Plan for Parents and Kids (PDF) and fill out the sections before printing it or emailing it to your family and friends

Read The Whole Story(Click Here)

Connect With Your Family With Red Cross Safe and Well Listings

The American Red Cross Safe and Well Listings is an innovative platform that capitalizes on technology to pass on safe and well messages of assurance and comfort to families and friends in case of a disaster.

It helps us to locate friends and family in case of a major incident and acts a way of letting your friends and family know that you are well. You can use the platform, which is available throughout the year and 24 hours a day, in two ways;

If you have been affected by a disaster anywhere in the United States of America, go to the Red Cross Safe and Well Listings website and click on “List Myself as Safe and Well,” enter your pre-disaster address and phone number, and select any of the standard message options.

You can locate your friends and family by accessing the Red Cross Safe and Well Listings and clicking on “Search Registrants’’ where you will enter the person’s name and pre-disaster phone number or address. If they have registered, you will be able to view the messages they have posted.

The platform is available in English and Spanish while it serves to assure loved ones that you are well in case of a disaster and can be used by locals and expatriates living in the United States. Information on this website is accurate as people use their pre-disaster contact information.

However, everyone may not be in the database as some people may be unable to register at a time and may do so when they reach a relief center or some may choose not to register at all. During such moments, it’s advisable to try and call or text your friend and loved one or try to reach them through contact persons such as neighbors, coworkers, consulates and relatives.

The Red Cross Safe and Well Listings should always be considered as an option to let your friends and family know that you are well, when involved in a disaster of any kind.

Facebook Safety Check

facebook safety check

 

 

Facebook has developed a tool called Safety Check. Safety Check is tool created to help folks let their family and friends know they’re safe after a major incident. This tool not only allows you to tell your people you’re OK, it allows your friends to know you’re alive and well based on your input

Facebook Safety Check was created in 2011 after the Japan earthquake. The developers notice how families and friends were going online to check on their loved ones.

How Facebook Safety Check Works

This tool will activate either based where you told FB you’re from or where FB knows you are (yes, if you have the app on your phone Facebook knows where you are). A one button option will appear allowing you to tell the world you’re safe. Not only will this app allow you to tell your friends you’re safe, it will allow you to know if your friends who are in a disaster zone are OK too. Safety check also allows you tell the app it’s sending off a false alarm and you’re not in the disaster zone.
“Facebook-Are you OK? It looks like you in the area affected by XYZ. Let friends know you’re safe.”

With millions of Facebook users out there, safety check is a handy tool that can immediately let your people know you’re OK(assuming the cell network is up-texting may be quicker) and they can calm down as best they can until they actually hear from you.

Connect With Your Family After A Disaster Resources 

American Red Cross Safe & Well Listings(Click Here)

Facebook Safety Check(Click Here)

Make An Emergency Communication Plan(Click Here)

How To Survive An Earthquake

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Many of us flatlanders in the Midwest section of the United States don’t view earthquakes as a real threat to our lives or property. Our disaster preparedness plans generally don’t revolve around the possibility of an earthquake. Our natural disaster emergency plans are based on the appearance of a tornado or flash flood. Most of us simply don’t know what to do in the event of an earthquake.

 

Preparing for an earthquake never entered my mind. This all changed in April of  2008 when a 5.2 magnitude quake hit in New Salem Illinois and shook most of Illinois, Indiana Missouri. In 2010 a 3.8 magnitude quake came out of nowhere. This temblor put many, including me on notice we live in an earthquake zone.

The last straw for me came in August 2012, while visiting friends in California, I found myself in the middle of an earthquake swarm. It chapped my ass to see my west coast friends laugh at the Midwest Boy and his confusion and fear.  After all, a 5.3 on the Richter scale is nothing to these people.

Scientists believe the risk of quakes is growing as the state drains groundwater reserves near the San Andreas Fault. California’s drought has reached epic proportions. Nearly 60 percent of the state is in exceptional drought—the most severe category—and farmers are depleting groundwater reserves at record rates as wildfires break out north and south. Read More[Click Here]

Earthquake Intensity Map

 

Ways to prepare for an earthquake

During the quake

Indoors
  • Stay inside
  • DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON! Move only a few steps to a nearby safe place. Take cover under and hold onto a piece of heavy furniture or stand against an inside wall. Stay indoors until the shaking stops and you’re sure it’s safe to exit. Stay away from windows and doors.
  • **Never take an elevator
  • If you are in bed, hold on, stay there, and protect your head with a pillow.
Outdoors
  • Find a clear spot away from buildings, trees, and power lines.
  • Drop to the ground until the shaking stops.
In A Car
  • Slow down and drive to a clear place (as described above).
  • Turn on emergency flashers on and slow to a stop. Do not stop on overpasses, underpasses, or bridges. Be careful of overhead hazards such as power lines or falling building debris.
  • Turn off the ignition and set the parking brake.
  • Stay inside the car until the shaking stops.
Pets: During and after
  • Don’t try to hold your pet during a quake. Animals instinctively want to hide when their safety is threatened. If you get in their way, even the nicest pets may hurt you.
  • Watch animals closely. Leash dogs and place them in a fenced yard.
  • Pets may not be allowed into shelters for health and space reasons. Prepare an emergency pen for pets in the home that includes a 3-day supply of dry food and a large container of water.
  • If you can’t find your pet or must leave it at home after a quake, leave fresh water in no-spill containers such as bathtubs and sinks. Leave plenty of low-fat dry food, which deteriorates more slowly and is less tasty so pets won’t try to eat it all at once. Leave a note indicating that you have a pet, where you will be and the date.

After the quake

Personal Safety
  • Expect aftershocks. Each time you feel one, DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON!
  • Check yourself for injuries. Protect yourself by wearing long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, sturdy shoes and work gloves.
  • Listen to a battery-operated radio or television for the latest emergency information.
  • Check others for injuries. Give first aid where appropriate. Do not move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger of further injury.
  • Remember to help your neighbors who may require special assistance–infants, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
Home
  • Inspect your home for damage. Get everyone out if your home is unsafe.
  • Telephone: Use the telephone only for emergencies. Check to make sure the receiver has not been shaken off the hook and is tying up the line.
  • Fires: Look for and extinguish small fires.
  • Gas: Check for gas leaks. If you smell gas or hear blowing or hissing noise, open a window and leave the building. Turn off the gas at the outside main valve if you can and call the gas company.
  • Remember, only a professional can turn the gas back on.
  • Electricity: Look for electrical system damage. Turn off the electricity at the main fuse box or circuit breaker if you see sparks or broken or frayed wires, or if smell hot insulation. If you have to step in water to get to the fuse box or circuit breaker, call an electrician first for advice.
  • Sewage, Water: Check for sewage and water line damage. If you suspect sewage lines are damaged, avoid using the toilets and contact a plumber. If water pipes are damaged, contact the water company and avoid using water from the tap.

Armed with this information, I have a mental plan of action in place in the event I find myself in an earthquake either at home or while traveling to areas where an earthquake is more likely to strike.

As THEY are finding new faults and rifts every day, an earthquake could pop up just about any time anywhere. Yeah, I think I’ll keep my GHB (Get Home Bag) handy just in case.

I would rather have a little sling bag filled with 24 hours worth of gear that will allow me to eat a little, drink a little and create a primitive shelter than find myself shuffling through the rubble with only my work slacks and shoes

 

Source: American Red Cross, Fema, San Francisco Chronicle

 

I am an affiliate for Amazon. This means if you buy something I mentioned in the article, I earn a commission.   Please know that I only recommend products that I believe in. I don’t try to hide the fact I earn money from this blog, my credibility is more important than making a quick buck and putting you in harm’s way 

 Thanks for your support and feel free to post questions below. 

 For More Information Check Out My Ethics & Privacy Page

9 Ways To Survive A Riot

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lazy-bear-survival-tips-to-survive-a riot

ri·ot
noun
    1. 1.a violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd.
      “riots broke out in the capital“

       

      Recent events have reminded us that at a moment’s notice, the peace can be shattered by a spontaneous (or planned) violent outburst.

      Without warning, you may find what was once the right place at the right time has now turned into a very scary place, the air filled with crowd control agents, and plunderers fighting for the last big screen TV.

      You’re smack dab in the middle of a riot. What do you do? You keep your head and check out the following tips:

      1. Stay calm and keep your emotions in check
      2. Avoid confrontation
      3. Walk
      4. Get inside and stay there
      5. Keep your doors and windows locked
      6. Stay on the sidelines
      7. If you’re caught up in a car, stay calm
      8. Move away from the riot
      9. Watch your footing in a mob situation Stay Calm and keep your emotions in check

      Get the details on surviving a riot at modernsurvivalblog.com

      Click Here For The Details On How To Survive A Riot

I am an affiliate for Amazon. This means if you buy something I mentioned in the article, I earn a commission.   Please know that I only recommend products that I believe in. I don’t try to hide the fact I earn money from this blog, my credibility is more important than making a quick buck and putting you in harm’s way 

 Thanks for your support and feel free to post questions below. 

 For More Information Check Out My Ethics & Privacy Page

How To Make A Beer Can Stove

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Beer Can Stove

Beer Can Stove

 

The beer can (or soda can) stove is a homemade stove anyone can create in a short amount of time. The equipment list is basic to say the least, the assembly instructions are even more basic. To create this stove you will need:

  • 2-Beer or soda cans drained of their content.
  • 1-Utility knife
  • 1-Nail
  • 1-Hammer

Learn How To Make One At TrueActivist.com

Click Here To Learn More

 

 

Can Ebola Really Be Stopped At The Airport?

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Lazy Bear Survival-Can Ebola Be Stopped At The AirportOn Thursday, the Nigerian government announced that they had started screening passengers at international airports for signs of Ebola after a passenger showed up in Lagos suffering from the illness, which kills up to 90 percent of the people infected with it.Treatment options are extremely limited.

Nigerian airport authorities will be checking passengers who just arrived from Sierra Leone, currently under a state of emergency, and they’ll be looking for fever, since an elevated temperature is considered a sign of Ebola. If the passenger is presenting with higher than normal temperatures, screeners would subject the passenger to a blood test.

 

[Read The Whole Story Here]

 

 

12 Low Cost Essential Survial Items For Preppers

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The American Red Cross, Centers for Disease Control, Department of Homeland Security, and FEMA all recommend that we prepare survival kits for our homes to weather the storm in the event of a disaster.

 

 

They’re not just whistling Dixie here folks, they’re telling you right now that emergency preparedness is something you really need to be thinking about.

Do they know something we don’t? Yes, they know that in the event of a major disaster you CAN NOT EXPECT HELP from the government for at least 3 days or 72 hours.

The possibility of a  disaster is something most people don’t want to think about. Many don’t believe bad things can happen to them. To some, the thought of creating an emergency preparedness(AKA prepping) plan can be a daunting task.

Creating a plan doesn’t have to be a major task, and gearing up doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Take baby steps, start small and go from there. The important thing is to get started today.  These low-cost items are by no means all you’ll need to weather the storm,  they are however a low-cost ticket into the prepping game.

 

Basic Shelter

 

1.Emergency Fire Starter

When you find yourself up poop creek with wet matches and a dry Bic, you’re not going to freeze, in addition to your other basic shelter equipment, you’re coming Emergency Fire Starterprepared with one of the most primitive forms of fire creation known to man, flint and steel in the form of an emergency fire starter. This thing never gets wet and it never runs out of fluid and can save your hide. Your fire starter does ask one favor of you. It wants you to take it out of the package and practice with it.

Your fire starter and other gear for that matter know they’re worthless to you unless you train with them.  That’s the reason I won’t like my grill with anything other than this little baby. An unused skill is a wasted skill.

 

2. Relfective Emergency Tube Tent Shelter

A reflective emergency tube tent isn’t my first choice for shelter but in an emergency, it sure as heck beat nothing. Combined with your paracord (I actually prefer the para-cords to the rope the tent comes with) a quick visible shelter can be erected in no time.

 

3.Rothco 550 Paracord

 

What can you do with paracord? Hell, what can’t you do with it? 550 cord. Paracord can be used to create bows and other primitive weapons, build or reinforce a shelter

or raft or first aid tourniquets. There are more than 101 uses for this must-have low-cost survival item.

550 paracord or parachute cord is nothing more than a lightweight rope that was used to suspend parachutes. This rope consists of a nylon sheath over 7 interwoven strands. The 550 refers to the amount of weight the cord will hold before breaking. While strong as all get out, this cord isn’t meant for climbing

4.Mylar Thermal Blankets

What is a  Mylar Thermal Blanket or NASA Space Blanket is a very flexible piece of plastic with a reflective coating applied, this coating allows your thermal blanket to hold in valuable heat that would simply radiate away from your body.

An emergency blanket can be used as a personal body wrap or to wrap around someone who has gone into shock due to a traumatic injury. A space blanket can also be used to create a shelter that reflects more heat in that it allows to exit.

The space blanket was just one of many life enhancing items we received from our space program. On average, for each R&D dollar invested in NASA produced nearly a seven dollar return.

 Water

 

Depending on who you talk to, clean drinking water and the ability to acquire it come before everything else including shelter. Without a potable or drinkable source of Lazy Bear Survival Emergency Waterwater, it’s game over. You can go without food for quite some time but you’re toast in about 3 days without water.

How to treat water? There are several ways to treat water, boiling, of course, is first in my mind (see how important  that fire starter can be?) however my friend, their ways of water purification available to the modern prepper beyond the flames

5.Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets

Water purification tablets have been with us for quite some time, these low-cost pills turn once crappy tasting dangerous to drink water into crappy-tasting safe drinking water. Let’s face it, this is a survival situation, taste isn’t everything, and keeping hydrated is.

Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets are probably one of the easiest ways to clean water. Simply drop a couple of tabs into your newly found water source, the tablet which contains iodine dissolve to create safe drinking water.

 

6.Seychelles Pure Water Straw Advanced

A modern means of water purification can be had through “water straws.” These water straws are basically a tube with some sort of water filter media inside. These straws can be used to drink directly from a water source such as a creek, rain barrel or anywhere else you’ll find water that won’t wash you away. These filter straws unfortunately don’t work with salt water.

The added benefit of the Seychelles Advanced Pure Water Straw is the handy key chain clip allowing you to carry a filter everywhere your keys go. This can come in handy in emergencies for some reason don’t send you an Outlook message inviting you to a disaster.

 

Food

 

Lazy Bear Survival Emergency FoodIt goes without saying, keeping a full belly or at least a full calorie count is important during an emergency. Without the energy food provides, our minds and bodies go to mush helping us to make crazy, silly choices with regard to our survival. Modern preppers tend to supplement their emergency food supplies with options such as food ration bars or freeze-dried take-and-go food pouches.

7.Datrex 3600 Calorie Emergency Food Bar

The Datrex 3600 calorie food bar provides, well 3600 calories per day in the form of little calories bars. These low-cost food bars come vacuum sealed and ready to. These packs provide enough calories for about 3 days assuming you’re not clearing forests or engaging in other strenuous constant activities.

The downside to these bars is their ability to produce dry mouth. In my experience, these bars make excellent sources of emergency nutrition that taste like coconut with the consistency of pie crust, but my first choice for grab-and-go food would be the freeze-dried food pouches.

8.Mountain House Pro-Pak Freeze Dried Pouch

Freeze-Dried Food of today isn’t the tasteless wonder of yesteryear. I know, the taste isn’t everything but when it comes to food, given a choice, I’m going to want something warm and tasty as the world on the outside is in a state of chaos.

Mountain House Pro-Pak Freeze Dried pouches provide the taste and portability any prepper will love. These babies come in flavors that are a far cry above the coconut-flavored pie crust food bars offer. Stuff like Beef Stroganoff, Lasagna and Turkey Tetrazzini are just what the doctor ordered after a day of disaster.

Just add hot clean water provided by your flint and steel water and you’re eating high on the hog in now time. A 2-serving Pro-Pak will provide you with an average of 500 calories per meal depending on the flavors you choose.

While the Pro-Paks taste better than the Datrex Food Bars, the food bars take up less space and don’t require water to eat.

First Aid

 

9.American Red Cross First Aid Only

First Aid after a disaster can come in the form of little boo-boos, puncture wounds caused by stepping on nails or massive trauma. The American Red Cross First Aid Only kit address less severe injuries one may come across after the storm.

Combined with a little training, this low-cost kit is packed with enough stuff to get you over but cheap enough to buy two, one for your kit to be used in the event of a disaster and one for everyday use.

 

Emergency Lighting

Nothing strikes fear in the heart of just about anyone more than the lights going down during a storm or other wild natural event. Loss of power isn’t restricted to stormsLazy Bear Survival Emergency Lighthing or earthquakes, the lights can go off for other reasons including a power grid that involve a possible cyber attack or something as mundane as a drunk driver knocking down a transmission line to your town.

Emergency lighting when the power has failed brings great comfort to just about anyone.

 

10.Cyalume Light Sticks

Cyalume light sticks, a chem light or glows stick are nothing more than tubes that contains two chemicals separated by a brittle barrier. These easy-to-use light sources provide several hours of cold light by simply bending the tube and shaking it.

Lightweight and portable, I keep these things all over the place including work.

11.100 Hour Emergency Candle

The 100-Hour Emergency Candle is a smokeless, odorless paraffin-burning candle that will last up to four days of continuous use. In an emergency, chances are you won’t need to use your candle more than a few hours a day, say just after dark but before going to bed thus extending the life of the candle.

Unlike other candles, you can’t cook over it or expect it to provide any measurable warmth but when it comes to light, these candles can be your best friend with the light switches stop working.

 

Basic Tool

 

12.P-38/P-51Can Opener

“Boy, let me see your key chain, how do you plan to open a can in an emergency, with your teeth?”

These words which echo from my past came from an old(It’s funny what the young consider old, this person was a couple of years younger than I am now) Viet Nam vet Lazy Bear Survival Emergency Tooback in the day. That day I learned why a man never goes anywhere without his handy P-38 Can Opener. Before the day of the MRE, a soldier’s ration usually consisted of C-rations. Unlike the rations of today, these canned or tinned rations were not easy to open. The easiest way to open these rations was your trusty P-38 can opener.

 

To this day, I keep one on my key chain and another in my wallet as part of the EDC thing.

Another great non-survival P-38 can opener use is probably one of my favorites, beer can ventilation, take your low-tech survival tool to an open can of beer, carve out a notch on the end opposite to that of the opening, and you now have unrestricted, access to your brew.

 

I created my low-cost 12 Low-Cost Survival Gifts For Preppers to show you just how easy and relatively inexpensive it is to begin putting together a budget-minded emergency kit. Each of these items can be stored in a backpack tucked away ready to go at a moment’s notice or on you as part of your EDC(every day carry plan) as I do.

 

 

I am an affiliate for Amazon. This means if you buy something I mentioned in the article, I earn a commission.   Please know that I only recommend products that I believe in. I don’t try to hide the fact I earn money from this blog, my credibility is more important than making a quick buck and putting you in harm’s way 

 Thanks for your support and feel free to post questions below. 

 For More Information Check Out My Ethics & Privacy Page

 

Carrying The World In Your Maxpedition Glen Eagle Messenger Bag

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Messenger Bags have been with us for quite a time. They’ve garnered a reputation among couriers and students alike as the best means of urban carry thanks to their sober yet versatile design and carry capacity.

 

What Is A Messenger Bag?

The messenger bag is a carry all originally designed for couriers. Most messenger bags are worn over the shoulder thanks to a handy strap that crosses the chest allowing for easy access to delivery guys who favor the bike as a mode of transportation. There are a lot of great messenger bags for everyday use for school, work etc made from leather or plastic. These are awesome products for the general public. However, the prepper needs a more practical bag.

RECOMMENDED Why You Need A Get Home Bag 

 

Maxpedition GlenEagle Messenger Bag

Maxpedition brings forth one of the most unique and innovative best lap top bags for tactical and tough use. While the main bag material, 1000–Denier isn’t water-proof, it is nonetheless water resistant.The design of the Glen Eagle uses the basic messenger bag format as the main closure of the bag consists of a big flap that employs two one inches of SRB buckles for securing.

A liberal amount of loop of Velcro has been provided for nameplate or moral patches. This setup comes out to be just awesome for adjustability for high load sizes. Amongst all this, an innovative double zipper on the upper back has been provided for making one’s access easier to the quick bag.

Maxpedition GlenEagle Messenger Bag

Maxpedition GlenEagle Messenger Bag

The opening, on the other hand, may not come out to be quite that big but stands to be just the thing when it comes grabbing quick items from the bag. Spaced out from this, an additional big patch of fabric is there on the bag, which makes provision for you to mount these get home bags easily upon roller luggage, which come with telescoping handles.

Once you open the key flap of the bag, two quite large utility pouches have been included, which include the use of Velcro for closing them.

The sizing that has been provided on them stands to be quite enticing for the reason that they aid in organizing the items in them while still maintaining easy and excellent holding capability.Even the slim sides of the bag as well are equipped with loops hence it becomes quite simple to hold the attachments that are smaller.

Get Your Maxpedition Gleneagle Messenger Bac[Click Here]

I am an affiliate for Amazon. This means if you buy something I mentioned in the article, I earn a commission.   Please know that I only recommend products that I believe in. I don’t try to hide the fact I earn money from this blog, my credibility is more important than making a quick buck and putting you in harm’s way 

 Thanks for your support and feel free to post questions below. 

 For More Information Check Out My Ethics & Privacy Page

What is the P-38/P51 John Wayne Can Opener?

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It was a hot summer evening back in the day. Sitting on the porch with the old dudes (looking back those dudes were a few years younger than I am now) listening to the same old stories of life, love and their experiences in Viet Nam.

Quietly I was passed a beer not understanding this was it, this was one of many rites of passage from a teen to a man. I popped the top thinking I was cooler than 40 below. I wasn’t as cool as I thought.

“Boy, let me see your key chain, how you plan to open a can in an emergency, with your teeth?”  That night I received my first P-38 can opener that I learned to use to vent a beer can by poking a hole opposite of the opening.

One thing I learned that night was a Viet Nam veteran was always ready. I’ve carried a P-38 or its cousin the P-51 on my key chain ever since.

 

What is a P-38 Can Opener?

A P-38 can opener is small folding piece of metal that can be used to open, well cans. Long

P-51 Can Opener

P-51 Can Opener

before the days of the MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) rations, our troops enjoyed culinary delights compliments of the C-Ration which was a canned version of today’s field rations. The guys needed a portable, reliable way to open these tinned rations hence the development of the P-38 and later the P-51 can openers.

Why Is It Called A P-38 Can Opener?

Depending on who you’re talking to, there are two answers.

  1. The length of the P-38 & P-51 is 38 and 51 millimeters respectively.
  2. Some speculate that it takes 38 cranks to open a can with the P-38 and 51 cranks with P-51 to open a can.

I tend to agree with number one more than number two.

What Can You Do With A P-38 Can Opener?

Well, you can open cans. What else would you do with a can opener? Today’s preppers have a myriad of ways to store emergency food including Freeze Dried Food Pouches and MRE Options.

These are awesome methods of storing emergency food (my plan is to lean on canned foods and use the other methods as a backup or bug-out option) however, nothing beat the good old-fashioned can for food storage.

Why Do You Need A P-38 Can Opener?

We all have an electric can opener as well as a manual can opener or two. Electric is useless when the power goes down, manual can openers tend to stay in the drawer where they can be easily forgotten if you have to hit the bricks in a hurry.

The P-38/P-51 option is a lightweight solution to your problem. If you’re like me, you always have one on your keychain (except when visiting the courthouse, you’ll have to give it up). If your keys are going, your can opener is going with you.

These openers are very light making it easy to carry more than one in your Bug Out Bag, Get Home Bag, wallet, etc. If it’s with you, you’ll always have a way to open a can.

Last but not least, a non-prep reason to carry a P-38 is that it makes drinking beer easier

  1.  Open beer
  2. Use 3 cranks on the opposite of the opening
  3.  Enjoy

There’s nothing like a tool that has multiple uses and is cheap is there?

 

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO 12 ESSENTIAL LOW COST SURVIVAL GIFTS

 

 

 

 

 

Why You Need A Get Home Bag

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What Is A Get Home Bag?

A Get Home Bag is a small survival pack filled with emergency essentials and goodies that will allow you to get home in the event of an emergency.

Smaller than its big brother (or sister), the Bug out Bag, this kit is part of your emergency preparedness plan that will make your trek home a little less stressful. A get-home bag will come in hand if you find yourself away from home when the SHTF. For most of us, this crap storm will hit while we’re at work.

For that reason, my GHB plan is based for the most part on a “what if something happens” while I’m at the gig.

The ideal scenario (as if there is an ideal scenario for a disaster) is one where you may find yourself unable to drive home from work. The car won’t start(EMP?), you ran the tank dry and don’t have the cash to buy gas, an earthquake or flash flood knocked out the roads home.

Whatever went down has left you on foot for most if not all of your journey home, a great time to have a GHB as part of your emergency action plan!

What Makes A Great Get Home Bag?

There’s a healthy debate online regarding which backpacks or bags should be used as a GHB. Camp A believes a Tactical Backpack is a no-no. The thought here is that “tactical” look military, military looks prepared, and prepared means you have stuff the unprepared want thus making you a target.

Camp A feels strongly our GHBs should be the most laid-back under-the-radar bag one can find. Bags such as laptop messenger bags or couriers bags come highly recommended.

Camp B says to hang the looks and go for the most tactical useful gear you can buy.  Camp B believes that in the event of a major incident a guy walking down the street with a Wal-Mart bag in his hand will appear to have “something” making himself just as much a target as the guy with an Alice pack dripping with gear.

Bag Choices

Messenger Bags

There are plenty of great-looking awesome courier bags out there. Let’s face it, looks aren’t everything when it comes to getting home in the event of a disaster.

I’ve used a shoulder messenger bag as a get-home bag and have narrowed my choice of the best messenger bag for our application down to two.

Maxpedition Glen Eagle Messenger Bag and the 5.11 Rush Delivery Messenger Bag

I’ve tried both bags, and they’re great. Both bags will hold a 17” laptop and extra gear for a long hump home. Both bags may allow you to slip past the unprepared who may think you’re some geek trying to get home with his laptop and view porn and not some uber-prepared dude with essential survival equipment.

Both bags are extremely durable and pretty much have the same specs.  Both kits allow you to carry a handgun in secret concealed carry compartments (access to your pistol is much faster in the 5.11).

Click Here For Maxpedition Glen Eagle Specs

Based on the non-military look, the 5.11 would probably not be your best choice. While the webbing does allow for the attachment of extra modules, it does have a slight tactical look to it.

The one this bag has that the Glen Eagle does it a water bottle holder. Water would be a great thing to have on you hump back home.

While I usually carry a Glen Eagle around as a laptop or airline carry-on bag, the 5.11 would be my choice of messenger bags that can be used as a get-home bag.

Back Packs

Going with the “I don’t care about looking military” theme, my GHB of choice is the Maxpedition Monsoon Gear. Why did I choose this bag?

Confidentially, I’m a Maxpedition Junkie. Aside from that, they put together a tough functional product that they stand behind.

The Monsoon is already my everyday carry bag. I don’t leave home without it. This bag has multiple attachment points that allow me to trick this thing out to my personal specs.

Personal Additions:

  • 1-Anemone Pouch
  • 1-Roly Poly Dump Pouch

The Anemone pouch finds itself in my bag as a means to carry small but vital stuff such as my good old-fashioned flint and steel fire starter and multi-use tool.

The Roly Poly Dump Pouch is part of my water strategy.

Maxpedition sells a dedicated water bottle holder but I find it a bit pricey and bulky when it comes to an EDC bag. The Roly Poly bag, on the other hand, allows me to carry a bag rolled up neat little shell for EDC.

When it goes down, I plan to unroll this bag and insert a water bottle as a means of carrying extra H2O.

What’s In My Get Home Bag?

I packed my GHB based on a few basic survival categories. Water, Food, and Shelter.

 Water

Water is the most important thing I’m could ever carry. I know my fat ass can go a few days without food, companionship or whiskey but I know I won’t last very long without water. My hike home could take a day at best, possibly two.

My water strategy includes:

  • 1-Camel Bak Bladder
  • 3-Water Purification Straws (2-Seychelles Pure water straws 1-Life Straw Personal Water Filter)
  • 4-1 Gallon bottles of water
  • 2- Bottles Water Purification Tablets
  • 12-Datrex Emergency Water Pouches

You may have noticed I have more than one of everything with the exception of the Camel Bak.

My plan is to keep water in the car and in my cubicle. In the event of an emergency, I can fill my Camel Bak in the relative privacy of my cubicle, if that’s not possible, I can fill up from my supplies in my car if I’m forced to light out of the building.

I have 3 water purification straws. One Seychelles straw hangs ten on my key chain which I place in the same place all day every day when I come to work. The remaining straws are in my bag which will be the second thing I grab when it’s time to boogie.

If I can’t get to the ride, I have the Datrex pouches that I will empty into the Camel Bak as the situation allows.  That’s not a lot of water. That’s where the straws and purification tabs will come in handy.

Food

The trek home may only take between 24-48 hours but that’s no reason to not pack food. A disaster is a dynamic thing, that short walk could turn into a major odyssey. Who knows, I may get a message from the old lady telling me she’s bugging out (no not leaving me) to our back up spot.

My Food Strategy Includes:

  • 3-Mountain Home Pro Pak (2-service pouches)
  • 1-Package Datrex 3600 Calorie Food Bars
  • 5-Packets Cliff Shot Energy Gel Packets
  • Chuckles Candy

Mountain Home Pro Pak

I reckon I could get away with the Datrex bars but I’m going to be real about it. If I’m walking, I’m miserable, something hot or at the very least tasty will go a long way to ease my little one-person pity party.

Scrambled Eggs and Bacon taste a hell of a lot better than the dry, coconut comfort offered by Datrex

 Datrex 3600 Calorie Food Bars

Why so much food? I’m packing a little extra food in the form of lightweight food bars just in case. Just in case water needed to re-hydrate the Pro Paks is scarce.

Just in case my walk is tougher and longer than I had hoped it would be and I’ve run through my freeze-dried goodness.

Cliff Shots

I carry Cliff Shots in my emergency preparedness bag as well as my cubicle because they tend to juice me up when I feel a bonk out coming on.

These little energy gel shots don’t go down as easy as they could but they still do the trick and give me the energy to get things done whether that be at work or out and about getting it done.

First Aid

My first aid concept has evolved over the past several months. First aid to me was once based on a Maxpedition (what else would I carry) F.I.G.H.T. pouch chock full of everything one would need from boo-boos to massive trauma.

It didn’t take me too long to reckon this was too much gear for a GHB. I still have the F.I.G.H.T. pouch but it’s hooked to my Bug out Bag. I’m trying to get home, not run a M.A.S.H. unit here.

I scaled back the first aid concept does include a smaller trauma kit in the form of an Individual Operator Chest Pouch offered by Rescue Essentials. This tight little pouch is attached to the front of my Monsoon Gearslinger via PALS webbing.

The IOCP also doubles as my range trauma kit includes:

IOCP Contents:

Contents:

  • 1  Tactical First Aid Chest Pouch Black
  • 1  SOFTT-W Generation 3 Tourniquet Black
  • 1  H & H Wound Seal (for Penetrating and Exit Wounds)
  • 1  H & H Primed Gauze Bandage
  • 1  H & H Thin Cinch Bandage
  • 1  Nasopharyngeal 28 Fr airway w/ lubricant
  • 1  Pair Triton Grip TE Black Nitrile Gloves (L)
  • 1  5.5″   EMT Shears
  • 1  Roll 2″ x 10yds Surgical Tape
  • 1  Mini Sharpie Marker
  • 1  Combat Casualty Card-Laminated
  • 1  Black Safety Pin

My non-trauma components are carried in and on my bag in the Anemone pouch and the interior pockets of my gearslinger

Shelter

I have two options for my shelter strategy.

There’s a chance I’m going to have to chill out and camp. My shelter component is light but I believe robust enough to get me through a night or two depending on the weather.

Option A

  • 1-Tube Tent
  • 2- Space Blankets
  • 150’ Roll Rothco Paracord

The concept here is simple. I plan to build a shelter using the tube tent and/or the space blankets. While not the most comfortable digs on the planet, I will at least be able to stay relatively dry and warm by building a shelter with the help of the paracord.

Option B

This option is probably a better choice than option A but adds weight to my kit. In addition to the paracord and space blankets, Option B includes a British Individual Protection Kit.

This kit weighs in at 2LBS. The IPK is a shelter in a bag that includes:

  • 1-Heavy Duty 5’x9’ Tarp
  • 6-10” Aluminum Stakes
  • 55’ Paracord

This kit can be used to build a more durable shelter than my tube tent option.

What’s the best choice? Why make a choice?

I have an IPK in the trunk of the car. If I’m able to get to the car, I can grab and go. No need to add to my EDC weight while keeping the tube tent option in the bag ready to go in the event I’m running with the herd ahead of a fire-breathing monster or enemy invasion force. With my bag packed out, I thought I have squared away and ready to go. That was until the day my GHB strategy was tested on a small scale.

I dropped my car off at the shop before work and got a ride in thinking said the ride would take me back to my car about 3 of miles away. My ride decided not to show up. I could have called a cab or another ride but thought this would be the perfect time to try out my bag. I filled the Camel Bak and the water bottles and set out.

The first thing I noticed was my shoes wouldn’t be up for the challenge of a full walk home nor would business casual attire. If the SHTF scenario I planned for happened on casual Friday, I would be OK. In order to solve this problem, I decided I would keep a good pair of jeans and walking shoes or boots in the trunk of my car at all times as well as in my cubicle (thankfully I have a large cube).

One way or another I’m hoping I’ll be able to change out of my Steve Maddens and Dockers before heading home after a disaster.

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