"What could I catch, with my tiny multitool?"
February 15, 2023 12:54 PM Subscribe
Oh yeah the awfulness of food in MRE-style pouches or dehydrated food buckets has always seemed like a huge mistake in these commercially sold emergency kits. Like, sure, have some of that as a back up to your back up option, but absolutely have heaps of your personal favorite cheer up snack and some calorie-dense foods you actually enjoy. Our household bug out bag should include a pouch of gummy bears, come to think of it.
Click through to the article for an excellent photo of Pepe the dog enjoying "MAYDAY Emergency Rations / Non-Thirst Provoking."
posted by spamandkimchi at 1:10 PM on February 15, 2023 [7 favorites]
Click through to the article for an excellent photo of Pepe the dog enjoying "MAYDAY Emergency Rations / Non-Thirst Provoking."
posted by spamandkimchi at 1:10 PM on February 15, 2023 [7 favorites]
Our household bug out bag should include a pouch of gummy bears, come to think of it.
Old stale gummy bears are terrible. I guess if you are aiming for candy that you can't tell has gone bad, then sugar hard candy, like peppermints, is your only option. Plus you don't feel the urge to eat them until there is a disaster.
If that's the correct backpack, the attached links show it costing $310. That's ridiculous.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:28 PM on February 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
Old stale gummy bears are terrible. I guess if you are aiming for candy that you can't tell has gone bad, then sugar hard candy, like peppermints, is your only option. Plus you don't feel the urge to eat them until there is a disaster.
If that's the correct backpack, the attached links show it costing $310. That's ridiculous.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:28 PM on February 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
I keep a case of US MREs around as backup for an earthquake, and when I cycle them out I eat my way through the old ones as lunches, so as not to be wasteful. They honestly aren't bad, even several years old. I suspect commercial variants may not be as good, but the US military is motivated to keep their soldiers eating properly when in the field.
Honestly, the go bag that has gotten most use, though, is the weekend bag I keep in the trunk of my car. A pair of jeans, pair of shorts, black broomstick skirt, black wool sweater, three shortsleeved cotton tops, underwear and socks including two pair of wool ones, sneakers, toiletries and meds, all fitting in a modestly sized and nice looking bit of luggage. I also have a very warm red puffy jacket with hood I keep there. Need to crash at someone's house? Dumped coffee over yourself right before an interview? Unexpected dinner out? Checking out after an unexpected admission to the hospital? Good for all these things, plus actual emergencies like your car broke down and you need warmer clothes while waiting for roadside assistance or there's been an earthquake and you can't get back to your house for a few days.
posted by tavella at 1:30 PM on February 15, 2023 [23 favorites]
Honestly, the go bag that has gotten most use, though, is the weekend bag I keep in the trunk of my car. A pair of jeans, pair of shorts, black broomstick skirt, black wool sweater, three shortsleeved cotton tops, underwear and socks including two pair of wool ones, sneakers, toiletries and meds, all fitting in a modestly sized and nice looking bit of luggage. I also have a very warm red puffy jacket with hood I keep there. Need to crash at someone's house? Dumped coffee over yourself right before an interview? Unexpected dinner out? Checking out after an unexpected admission to the hospital? Good for all these things, plus actual emergencies like your car broke down and you need warmer clothes while waiting for roadside assistance or there's been an earthquake and you can't get back to your house for a few days.
posted by tavella at 1:30 PM on February 15, 2023 [23 favorites]
Owner of the backpack company: “We ten-x’ed our sales during Covid. We went from working in my garage with a couple high-schoolers, who would come and pack bags, to hiring 15 to 20 employees overnight. People were getting so scared. We’d never seen that.”
posted by box at 1:32 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by box at 1:32 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I don't have a bug out bag but I enjoy camping and have a decent amount of gear and dried food so I could make one fairly quickly if it came to it. Maybe in a real emergency I would just be grabbing the camping gear bins from the garage and shoving them in the car, not worrying to take the time to go through things because even if I can't find a use for something someone else probably will. But I guess a lot will depend on the nature of the emergency. Practically speaking the only things I could think of where staying in place at home wasn't the smarter thing to do would be some kind of gas leak or accident at the closest nuclear power plant and for those I'd probably just need food, my stove, and sleeping bags, and I'd just drive somewhere to stay until it blew over and buy whatever else I needed.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:37 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:37 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have a bug out shelf. Really, less of a bug out shelf and more of a "earthquake knocked out power and water for a few days" shelf.
And I'm not surprised that backpack company saw that leap in sales. Everyone was freaked out
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:39 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
And I'm not surprised that backpack company saw that leap in sales. Everyone was freaked out
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:39 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I live in Texas. Prepping here is being ready for those cold winter days when our power grid fails again and then a year later for the massive increase in utility bills to keep the profits growing for the utility companies while they "voluntarily" "upgrade" the grid.
Also Pepe was a smart dog for going home early.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 2:01 PM on February 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
Also Pepe was a smart dog for going home early.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 2:01 PM on February 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
"I don't think it was coincidence that the Sandy Hook murderer lived in a prepper household."
It might (might) not be universal, but a lot of what a lot of the prepper community is really prepping for is "a race war". And a lot of what makes them look so foolish is that we already know what humans need to do to survive catastrophe - helping each other, having a mutually supportive society, boring old stuff like that -and they'd rather just abandon ship and go live out their lone-wolf macho fantasies instead.
Prepping, survivalism, whatever you want to call it, is a kind of promise: I don’t know where I’ll land, but I’ll land somewhere. Whatever happens, I’ll find a way to get by.
Alone in the woods with that junk bag full that junk gear? I laughed for real. Kid, you're fucked.
But if you need me, I'll be home under my roof, with extra blankets and candles, checking in on my neighbors and sharing the food and warmth we've got so everyone gets through this together, and if you drop by you'll be welcomed.
posted by mhoye at 2:05 PM on February 15, 2023 [46 favorites]
It might (might) not be universal, but a lot of what a lot of the prepper community is really prepping for is "a race war". And a lot of what makes them look so foolish is that we already know what humans need to do to survive catastrophe - helping each other, having a mutually supportive society, boring old stuff like that -and they'd rather just abandon ship and go live out their lone-wolf macho fantasies instead.
Prepping, survivalism, whatever you want to call it, is a kind of promise: I don’t know where I’ll land, but I’ll land somewhere. Whatever happens, I’ll find a way to get by.
Alone in the woods with that junk bag full that junk gear? I laughed for real. Kid, you're fucked.
But if you need me, I'll be home under my roof, with extra blankets and candles, checking in on my neighbors and sharing the food and warmth we've got so everyone gets through this together, and if you drop by you'll be welcomed.
posted by mhoye at 2:05 PM on February 15, 2023 [46 favorites]
I love Blair Braverman. Thanks for sharing, I'd not otherwise have seen this.
posted by crush at 2:06 PM on February 15, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by crush at 2:06 PM on February 15, 2023 [9 favorites]
She also wrote a great article about her appearing on Naked and Afraid.
posted by Superilla at 2:10 PM on February 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Superilla at 2:10 PM on February 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'll be dead before long without insulin, which means I'll be dead before long without refrigeration, which means that all the time I spent as a kid trying and failing to light a fire with two sticks as per the instructions in Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival was probably wasted.
posted by clawsoon at 2:18 PM on February 15, 2023 [16 favorites]
posted by clawsoon at 2:18 PM on February 15, 2023 [16 favorites]
NoxAeternum: I hear you. Braverman, though, is the farthest thing from them. She has written before about her interest in wilderness survival having its roots in her being Jewish, in her childhood fear that someday she would have to run from those kind of people. She's an outdoor person for its own sake now, but that made a big impression on me. Full disclosure, I'm kind of a fan of hers; I've posted about her before.
It tickled me that she called Pepe her "most competent dog," because I immediately knew who the least competent was.
posted by Countess Elena at 2:19 PM on February 15, 2023 [35 favorites]
It tickled me that she called Pepe her "most competent dog," because I immediately knew who the least competent was.
posted by Countess Elena at 2:19 PM on February 15, 2023 [35 favorites]
Mod note: The prepper culture/Sandy Hook derail wasn't caught early enough, so let's just drop it now while we're ahead! Please keep comments relevant and focused on the article shared by OP.
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 3:08 PM on February 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 3:08 PM on February 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
Preppers and hoarders always make me think about Dee Xtrovert's comment on the siege in Sarajevo and how all the hoarders quickly ran out of what they'd been hoarding and then the focus became community.
Old stale gummy bears are terrible. I guess if you are aiming for candy that you can't tell has gone bad, then sugar hard candy, like peppermints, is your only option. Plus you don't feel the urge to eat them until there is a disaster.
In the late 90s I had some kind of hard lemon candies that had been canned and put in a FEMA shelter back in like 1950; they were okay, definitely way, way better than any gummi candies even one year past sell by. Still, the rational thing if you can stay disciplined is to constantly rotate out a stock of the canned goods you normally eat. Those who can't stay on top of that scheduling or who cherry pick out the stuff they like probably have to deal with the stupid survivalist foods.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:10 PM on February 15, 2023 [13 favorites]
Old stale gummy bears are terrible. I guess if you are aiming for candy that you can't tell has gone bad, then sugar hard candy, like peppermints, is your only option. Plus you don't feel the urge to eat them until there is a disaster.
In the late 90s I had some kind of hard lemon candies that had been canned and put in a FEMA shelter back in like 1950; they were okay, definitely way, way better than any gummi candies even one year past sell by. Still, the rational thing if you can stay disciplined is to constantly rotate out a stock of the canned goods you normally eat. Those who can't stay on top of that scheduling or who cherry pick out the stuff they like probably have to deal with the stupid survivalist foods.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:10 PM on February 15, 2023 [13 favorites]
Generally the reason these aren't great is that they aren't really meant for *survival* survival. It's a mix of emergency kit to keep in the car/basement for something unexpected until you can get help, and *operator* styling to indulge that particular bend of our culture. The prepper branding is up there with wearing forest camo walking around the local big box store, it's more about cultural branding than anything else. Sure there are people who take this stuff super seriously and are hoarding guns in a bunker but they're not buying pre made kits anyway.
posted by finalbroadcast at 3:14 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by finalbroadcast at 3:14 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
but she didn't even take one of Jim Bakker's buckets out there with her
posted by clawsoon at 3:26 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by clawsoon at 3:26 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
I find it hard to believe that anyone into prepping enough to spend a couple of hundred dollars on a ready-made bug-out bag would actually be happy with the contents of said bag (who's going to be happy opening that bag and seeing all the gear made by Coghlan's?).
To me the more believable market is people who've been told they should "be prepared" but aren't into that scene and so just want something where all the decisions are already made for them and they can check it off their list. In the same way that I, who don't know any first aid beyond dealing with minor cuts and scrapes, will just buy an Adventure Medical Kit and put that in my backpack and then consider first aid covered even though I don't know how to properly use most of the stuff in it.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:29 PM on February 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
To me the more believable market is people who've been told they should "be prepared" but aren't into that scene and so just want something where all the decisions are already made for them and they can check it off their list. In the same way that I, who don't know any first aid beyond dealing with minor cuts and scrapes, will just buy an Adventure Medical Kit and put that in my backpack and then consider first aid covered even though I don't know how to properly use most of the stuff in it.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:29 PM on February 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
I recently watched Panic in Year Zero! and it has some excellent prepping scenes -- well, maybe "prepping" is the wrong word, since the disaster has already happened but not everybody knows. It's a weird, lousy movie, but it's interesting in its way. The moral of it is that you should absolutely provide for you and your own, and screw everyone else and the road they're driving on.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:33 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:33 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
It's difficult for me to imagine having a bug-out bag without a clear idea of where you're bugging out to. I'm sure a lot of those poor folks in Ohio right now are getting out of there for a while if they can, but they aren't going to go live in the woods. They're moving in with family or a Motel 6. And a disaster on the scale of the Turkey-Syria 'quake requires a lot more than a box of MREs (assuming you can pull your bug-out supplies from the rubble).
Some one with a couple of flashlights with extra batteries, a radio, a water filter, a first-aid kit and some calorie-dense food bars will do OK, provided this person also has a willingness to share. Community and cooperation are the best defenses against disaster.
posted by SPrintF at 3:37 PM on February 15, 2023 [11 favorites]
Some one with a couple of flashlights with extra batteries, a radio, a water filter, a first-aid kit and some calorie-dense food bars will do OK, provided this person also has a willingness to share. Community and cooperation are the best defenses against disaster.
posted by SPrintF at 3:37 PM on February 15, 2023 [11 favorites]
I worked for HBO, and about six months after 9/11, they gave out survival bags. It was a backpack with some water bags, some protein bars and granola sticks, a silver blanket, face masks, a first aid kit with Tylenol, bandages, wipes, Neosporin, a flashlight, glowsticks and a little radio. The batteries came in a separate plastic bag, with a note that they should return them for replacements after a year. They also recommended that employees keep socks, heavy gloves and walking shoes at their workstation.
They were concerned that in an emergency, the workers might have to walk home, as happened on 9/11.
It seemed like a good idea for the folks that worked downtown, but as the office I was at was sixty miles out in suburbia, my bug out plan was to go out to the car and drive home.
I just kept it in the car and didn't think about it. But I did get a good laugh twenty years later when they closed our facility and let everyone go. At the exit interview, they asked for the bag back.
posted by Marky at 3:45 PM on February 15, 2023 [37 favorites]
They were concerned that in an emergency, the workers might have to walk home, as happened on 9/11.
It seemed like a good idea for the folks that worked downtown, but as the office I was at was sixty miles out in suburbia, my bug out plan was to go out to the car and drive home.
I just kept it in the car and didn't think about it. But I did get a good laugh twenty years later when they closed our facility and let everyone go. At the exit interview, they asked for the bag back.
posted by Marky at 3:45 PM on February 15, 2023 [37 favorites]
I saw the title and thought, "huh, I wonder if this is Blair Braverman." Lo and behold it was!
You should absolutely read Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube by her. It is the story of how she got into dog sledding. But first, you should read Winterdance by Gary Paulsen which is one of the main reasons why Blair got started in the first place. They're both magnificent books.
Blair does a thing in the winter called Trail Mail where if you send her your stamped and addressed Christmas Cards, she or her partner will mark the envelopes to indicate that they were delivered by dog sled and then will take them to the post office. I've done this a couple times and include a check for them and dog treats for her dogs.
posted by plinth at 4:05 PM on February 15, 2023 [19 favorites]
You should absolutely read Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube by her. It is the story of how she got into dog sledding. But first, you should read Winterdance by Gary Paulsen which is one of the main reasons why Blair got started in the first place. They're both magnificent books.
Blair does a thing in the winter called Trail Mail where if you send her your stamped and addressed Christmas Cards, she or her partner will mark the envelopes to indicate that they were delivered by dog sled and then will take them to the post office. I've done this a couple times and include a check for them and dog treats for her dogs.
posted by plinth at 4:05 PM on February 15, 2023 [19 favorites]
Points off for not naming the dog "Prepé"
posted by chavenet at 4:08 PM on February 15, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 4:08 PM on February 15, 2023 [9 favorites]
On the technical side, what I don't understand is how the pack could weight so much and yet lack so many fundamental items like shelter or water filtration. My multi-day backpacking kit has a dry weight of about 18lbs, the same as this bug out bag. Yet it has a real tent, 10 deg sleeping bag, NeoAir mattress (worth every penny by the way), filter, stove, rain gear, clothing, really warm down jacket (I get cold easily), camera w/ wide angle lens, headlamp, etc, etc. Just fill the Nalgene with the initial quart or two of water and I'm off for an extended weekend.
I guess my plan was to always do a quick run through the house and snag the sleeping bag, tent, water filter, stove, and backpack. Mix in whatever food looks good from the pantry plus clothing per the season and I should be out the door in 10 minutes. Oddly enough, this is usually how I pack for a 3-4 day backpacking trip. I just spend an extra 10 minutes going through the mental checklist of what I'll need and checking the batteries for the camera.
On the "if this was an actual emergency" side, BrotherCaine's comment above referencing Dee Xtrovert's is spot on with the issue I have with a lot of the preppers rugged individualism approach. Rutger Bregman's recent book, Humankind drives this even further home. We need each other to have a chance of surviving long term.
What would I bring to the group? Well, I splurged on the water filter when I replaced my old one last year. The MSR Guardian can do 10,000 liters and has an incredible flow rate. Need clean water from a muddy puddle? It will handle it. Just bring a cup/nalgene/bucket and I'll be happy to get you some fresh water. Besides, being alone is boring and I'd rather have some company.
posted by SegFaultCoreDump at 4:30 PM on February 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
I guess my plan was to always do a quick run through the house and snag the sleeping bag, tent, water filter, stove, and backpack. Mix in whatever food looks good from the pantry plus clothing per the season and I should be out the door in 10 minutes. Oddly enough, this is usually how I pack for a 3-4 day backpacking trip. I just spend an extra 10 minutes going through the mental checklist of what I'll need and checking the batteries for the camera.
On the "if this was an actual emergency" side, BrotherCaine's comment above referencing Dee Xtrovert's is spot on with the issue I have with a lot of the preppers rugged individualism approach. Rutger Bregman's recent book, Humankind drives this even further home. We need each other to have a chance of surviving long term.
What would I bring to the group? Well, I splurged on the water filter when I replaced my old one last year. The MSR Guardian can do 10,000 liters and has an incredible flow rate. Need clean water from a muddy puddle? It will handle it. Just bring a cup/nalgene/bucket and I'll be happy to get you some fresh water. Besides, being alone is boring and I'd rather have some company.
posted by SegFaultCoreDump at 4:30 PM on February 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
I'm assuming the weight was largely the water. Why the kit had so much water instead of a little water and a filtration kit is beyond me. My boyfriend got a similar backpack after working on some movie or TV show and the weight was water and the backpack itself, which was very strangely too heavy and very flimsy-seeming at the same time.
posted by queensissy at 4:38 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by queensissy at 4:38 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
> On the technical side, what I don't understand is how the pack could weight so much and yet lack so many fundamental items like shelter or water filtration.
About a third of the way down she says that the pack was mostly full of... bags of water. Which probably accounted for most of the weight.
posted by justkevin at 4:39 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
About a third of the way down she says that the pack was mostly full of... bags of water. Which probably accounted for most of the weight.
posted by justkevin at 4:39 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yeah but a filter will cost $50+. Some foil packed water will only cost $0.25 per pack. How do you expect them to turn a profit if they put in expensive stuff like a filter?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:52 PM on February 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:52 PM on February 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
Please keep comments relevant and focused on the article shared by OP.
Respectfully, comments on the larger cultural implications of the post are both.
But if you're playing along at home: At a guess, the profit margins on this nonsense are somewhere between 80 and 120 percent. Like a lot of "survivalist" posts, this is nothing more than an exercise in selling gullible, frightened racists a security blanket, and the vaguely ironic approach to it doesn't change that.
Yeah but a filter will cost $50+. Some foil packed water will only cost $0.25 per pack. How do you expect them to turn a profit if they put in expensive stuff like a filter?
The bag is a cheap knockoff of the Maxpedition Falcon 2; the real deal is currently on sale for a buy one, get one free price of $200 for two, and this knockoff likely costs less than a third that. But let's say $40, charitably.
The tiny multitool mentioned, assuming it's authentic, turns out to be a Gerber Dime, a keychain tool that might run you $30 at full retail. The Fenix light mentioned is probably this one, currently $45 on sale and the Coghlan's Tube Tent will run you about ten bucks, maybe less.
Judging from the pictures everything else listed - those gloves look suspiciously like something you can buy in bulk for $0.75/pair on Alibaba - is the cheapest junk they can find that looks almost like the real thing on a screen, which is one hundred percent aligned with the actual sensibilities and acumen of modern survivalist culture.
posted by mhoye at 5:09 PM on February 15, 2023 [15 favorites]
Respectfully, comments on the larger cultural implications of the post are both.
But if you're playing along at home: At a guess, the profit margins on this nonsense are somewhere between 80 and 120 percent. Like a lot of "survivalist" posts, this is nothing more than an exercise in selling gullible, frightened racists a security blanket, and the vaguely ironic approach to it doesn't change that.
Yeah but a filter will cost $50+. Some foil packed water will only cost $0.25 per pack. How do you expect them to turn a profit if they put in expensive stuff like a filter?
The bag is a cheap knockoff of the Maxpedition Falcon 2; the real deal is currently on sale for a buy one, get one free price of $200 for two, and this knockoff likely costs less than a third that. But let's say $40, charitably.
The tiny multitool mentioned, assuming it's authentic, turns out to be a Gerber Dime, a keychain tool that might run you $30 at full retail. The Fenix light mentioned is probably this one, currently $45 on sale and the Coghlan's Tube Tent will run you about ten bucks, maybe less.
Judging from the pictures everything else listed - those gloves look suspiciously like something you can buy in bulk for $0.75/pair on Alibaba - is the cheapest junk they can find that looks almost like the real thing on a screen, which is one hundred percent aligned with the actual sensibilities and acumen of modern survivalist culture.
posted by mhoye at 5:09 PM on February 15, 2023 [15 favorites]
It's difficult for me to imagine having a bug-out bag without a clear idea of where you're bugging out to.
This is a too-often-overlooked point. If a natural disaster hits my city, I'm probably getting evacuated to sleep on a cot in some stadium nearby. What you want for that delightful experience is rather different from your kit for hiding out in the woods.
Like a lot of "survivalist" posts, this is nothing more than an exercise in selling gullible, frightened racists a security blanket
Maybe don't judge quite so fast? Braverman has written a fair amount about survivalism, particularly from the perspective of having a trans partner.
When I was doing prepper research years ago, there seems to be a conflict that a lot of people doing this apocalypse prep thing have. There is a lot of suspicion of the outside world in the prepping arenas that I’ve been able to have access to. And so a common topic of conversation is, “If I saved food for my family, how do I keep it, when other people are starving and ask for it and I don’t want to give it to them?”
[Prepping is] a very family and enclave-centered thing. I mean prepping is looking at the world and saying, “It’s fucked up, so I need to make sure my family’s okay.” And one can also look at the world and say, “It’s fucked up, I need to make sure everyone’s okay to the best of my ability.”
posted by praemunire at 5:36 PM on February 15, 2023 [10 favorites]
This is a too-often-overlooked point. If a natural disaster hits my city, I'm probably getting evacuated to sleep on a cot in some stadium nearby. What you want for that delightful experience is rather different from your kit for hiding out in the woods.
Like a lot of "survivalist" posts, this is nothing more than an exercise in selling gullible, frightened racists a security blanket
Maybe don't judge quite so fast? Braverman has written a fair amount about survivalism, particularly from the perspective of having a trans partner.
When I was doing prepper research years ago, there seems to be a conflict that a lot of people doing this apocalypse prep thing have. There is a lot of suspicion of the outside world in the prepping arenas that I’ve been able to have access to. And so a common topic of conversation is, “If I saved food for my family, how do I keep it, when other people are starving and ask for it and I don’t want to give it to them?”
[Prepping is] a very family and enclave-centered thing. I mean prepping is looking at the world and saying, “It’s fucked up, so I need to make sure my family’s okay.” And one can also look at the world and say, “It’s fucked up, I need to make sure everyone’s okay to the best of my ability.”
posted by praemunire at 5:36 PM on February 15, 2023 [10 favorites]
Whew, yeah. Not great, but what's important is the dog had a good time.
I've been meaning to reevaluate my own bag and priorities. Like what is actually going to happen and what am I preparing for? Around here it's The Big One, an earthquake that will level the city. So I can't count on shelter here. Plus it rains so I'm going to want a tarp or tent. Already a tent that sleeps two is beyond the scope of many bug out bags so I've left familiar territory.
Still, whatever the case is, I'll probably want 2 days worth of water, snacks, and clothes, plus some basic medical necessities and a poncho or two. Flashlight and battery of course. A book, some cards and dice... maybe I'll start selling these packs out of my garage!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 5:41 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've been meaning to reevaluate my own bag and priorities. Like what is actually going to happen and what am I preparing for? Around here it's The Big One, an earthquake that will level the city. So I can't count on shelter here. Plus it rains so I'm going to want a tarp or tent. Already a tent that sleeps two is beyond the scope of many bug out bags so I've left familiar territory.
Still, whatever the case is, I'll probably want 2 days worth of water, snacks, and clothes, plus some basic medical necessities and a poncho or two. Flashlight and battery of course. A book, some cards and dice... maybe I'll start selling these packs out of my garage!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 5:41 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I keep a case of US MREs around as backup for an earthquake, and when I cycle them out I eat my way through the old ones as lunches, so as not to be wasteful. They honestly aren't bad, even several years old. I suspect commercial variants may not be as good, but the US military is motivated to keep their soldiers eating properly when in the field.
In the mid 1980s, my friends and I would ride our bikes to the army surplus store to wander around and stare at the knives and touch everything while the owner glared at us. (The smell of that place is still vivid to me and a couple of years ago I had to go to a surplus store again and it smelled exactly the same.) After wandering around we'd buy a couple of MREs and eat them on the way home. I think the ones we were buying came from the Vietnam war era or just after, and to me as a kid I thought they tasted great.
Right now we are underprepared, frankly. If the kind of disaster happened that shut off water and power, we'd either need to head out of town or go to a mass shelter. I have zero interest in the kind of prepping that is about fantasies of living in the bush and spearing rabbits, but as we get more settled in here and start building more relationships, I also want to be more prepared in the sense of having a few days of water, some marginally ok food (like MREs) that can be eating without cooking, and a clear plan of what to grab if there is a massive wildfire and we need to pack and leave in 15 minutes. That, to me, seems like sensible preparedness, versus planning for a "zombie apocalypse" (aka race war) or a situation where you are eating bugs and grubs.
The most likely situation that I can envisage is either needing to go live in a motel or sports stadium, or you are staying in your house but have to go and queue up in long lines of stressed out people for distribution of water and food. In either case, you are going to have a much better time if you are able to be friendly and make quick connections with people, rather than being threatening and standoffish.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:47 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
In the mid 1980s, my friends and I would ride our bikes to the army surplus store to wander around and stare at the knives and touch everything while the owner glared at us. (The smell of that place is still vivid to me and a couple of years ago I had to go to a surplus store again and it smelled exactly the same.) After wandering around we'd buy a couple of MREs and eat them on the way home. I think the ones we were buying came from the Vietnam war era or just after, and to me as a kid I thought they tasted great.
Right now we are underprepared, frankly. If the kind of disaster happened that shut off water and power, we'd either need to head out of town or go to a mass shelter. I have zero interest in the kind of prepping that is about fantasies of living in the bush and spearing rabbits, but as we get more settled in here and start building more relationships, I also want to be more prepared in the sense of having a few days of water, some marginally ok food (like MREs) that can be eating without cooking, and a clear plan of what to grab if there is a massive wildfire and we need to pack and leave in 15 minutes. That, to me, seems like sensible preparedness, versus planning for a "zombie apocalypse" (aka race war) or a situation where you are eating bugs and grubs.
The most likely situation that I can envisage is either needing to go live in a motel or sports stadium, or you are staying in your house but have to go and queue up in long lines of stressed out people for distribution of water and food. In either case, you are going to have a much better time if you are able to be friendly and make quick connections with people, rather than being threatening and standoffish.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:47 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
I backpacked a lot when I was in my twenties, and even my thirties. You know it is cold, cold outside, when you sleep with a canteen full of snow, and it does not thaw, at all, when you ditch the tent in the night, and crawl under the rock, it is up against. Sometimes having a little fat can make the difference between hypothermia and survival. Knowing yourself, and knowing what you need goes a long way in creating your personal Go architecture.
posted by Oyéah at 6:29 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 6:29 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
If Blair Braverman built a bug-out bag, I'd buy it. That's a lot more alliteration than I intended, but I stand by the concept.
I have a sneaking suspicion that if Blair left the house with just whatever it is she normally has in her pockets, instead of with that pre-built bag, she would have had a more comfortable night.
posted by Xiphias Gladius at 6:51 PM on February 15, 2023 [12 favorites]
I have a sneaking suspicion that if Blair left the house with just whatever it is she normally has in her pockets, instead of with that pre-built bag, she would have had a more comfortable night.
posted by Xiphias Gladius at 6:51 PM on February 15, 2023 [12 favorites]
So, if you are waiting outside Lowes at 4:45 you are NOT a prepper. You are simply 'inconvenienced' and will probably die when the proverbial hits the fan. You are writing about how scary it is rather than acting.... Bye....
posted by IndelibleUnderpants at 8:09 PM on February 15, 2023
posted by IndelibleUnderpants at 8:09 PM on February 15, 2023
Blair Braverman wanted a novel, but which novel?
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 9:17 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 9:17 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Dealing with four (or possibly five?? I've lost count) 50-year floods in the last 2 years, the pandemic, and the bushfire Armageddon that was the end of 2019 (whilst also caring for a cancer patient), I have Some Thoughts about the whole bug-out concept.
The main thought is - why do they think the best thing to do is to run off into the woods? Genuine question. I honestly can't understand it.
The only reason that I'd have to leave my home would be for a bushfire. And even then, that is a last-ditch sort of thing. In 2020, the massive bushfire nearest to me (between 1.5M-2M hectares) got within 20 kilometres of me. I knew from the carbonised debris dropping out of the sky onto my lawn (fortunately not live embers) that I needed a plan and I did indeed have a go bag that mostly involved legal documents and ID, medications, pet food, cash, laptop and phone, and some clothing. My car was fuelled and ready to go, and I did consider leaving when the smoke was so thick that day turned into night, visibility was maybe 50 meters, and I had to put towels against windows and doors to try and keep the air quality inside breathable.
I tell you this because people were panicking and trying to leave and there were accidents and delays and traffic jams well before things got grim. Leaving early or late - not a smart thing to do, IMHO.
The floods were easier - mostly because the roads were cut and there was literally no place to go, plus this house was chosen because it's well above flood level (if it goes under, we seriously have other things to worry about because most of the east cost will go too). As it happened, my forecasts about road closures were a lot more accurate than any of the official authorities, but that's practice for you so I had extra supplies in almost 48 hours before things kicked off. So I have a generator and extra fuel, and food and water storage etc etc etc. And so do most of my neighbours. The worst that happened was that internet and phone towers were patchy and my husband ran out of whisky.
So yeah. What is this urge to leave all those valuable resources behind like pantries and neighbours, and to run screaming into the wilderness? What makes them suddenly not resources any more?
posted by ninazer0 at 9:35 PM on February 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
The main thought is - why do they think the best thing to do is to run off into the woods? Genuine question. I honestly can't understand it.
The only reason that I'd have to leave my home would be for a bushfire. And even then, that is a last-ditch sort of thing. In 2020, the massive bushfire nearest to me (between 1.5M-2M hectares) got within 20 kilometres of me. I knew from the carbonised debris dropping out of the sky onto my lawn (fortunately not live embers) that I needed a plan and I did indeed have a go bag that mostly involved legal documents and ID, medications, pet food, cash, laptop and phone, and some clothing. My car was fuelled and ready to go, and I did consider leaving when the smoke was so thick that day turned into night, visibility was maybe 50 meters, and I had to put towels against windows and doors to try and keep the air quality inside breathable.
I tell you this because people were panicking and trying to leave and there were accidents and delays and traffic jams well before things got grim. Leaving early or late - not a smart thing to do, IMHO.
The floods were easier - mostly because the roads were cut and there was literally no place to go, plus this house was chosen because it's well above flood level (if it goes under, we seriously have other things to worry about because most of the east cost will go too). As it happened, my forecasts about road closures were a lot more accurate than any of the official authorities, but that's practice for you so I had extra supplies in almost 48 hours before things kicked off. So I have a generator and extra fuel, and food and water storage etc etc etc. And so do most of my neighbours. The worst that happened was that internet and phone towers were patchy and my husband ran out of whisky.
So yeah. What is this urge to leave all those valuable resources behind like pantries and neighbours, and to run screaming into the wilderness? What makes them suddenly not resources any more?
posted by ninazer0 at 9:35 PM on February 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
Never had interest in the prepper thing. I occasionally hang out in a prepper adjacent crowd, and none of them never really impress me all that much. These are people well prepared for something highly unlikely to happen, and rather eager to engage when it does. Whatever that may be. I'd pointed out multiple times, it's when something happens that you can't anticipate that makes a survival situation. And the list of things you can't anticipate is endless. No matter how prepared you are, you'll not be able to dictate the parameters of a real survival situation.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:46 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by 2N2222 at 9:46 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
The core thing that is missing from prepper fantasies -- the thing that makes them fantasies rather than plans -- is a coherent threat model. What, more or less, is the situation or range of situations you are intending to resolve with the supplies you are caching? This bag doesn't make any sense; it has some camping stuff, but total dogshit versions of it and no fire starting supplies; it has some dust/smoke supplies, but not enough to be worth much; it has some food and water, but not a way of providing more. Like, it's great if you want to spend one uncomfortable night alone in the bush during a wildfire?
It's like if someone sold a duffel bag of "spare work clothes". That sounds like a good thing to have, until you realize that people come in a vast array of sizes, genders and style preferences, and that "work" could be at a Fortune 500 board room, an elementary school, a cocktail lounge or an oil rig, and each of these suggest wildly different choices.
posted by Superilla at 10:37 PM on February 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
It's like if someone sold a duffel bag of "spare work clothes". That sounds like a good thing to have, until you realize that people come in a vast array of sizes, genders and style preferences, and that "work" could be at a Fortune 500 board room, an elementary school, a cocktail lounge or an oil rig, and each of these suggest wildly different choices.
posted by Superilla at 10:37 PM on February 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
The paragraph about the contents of the book made me laugh out loud.
posted by bendy at 11:07 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by bendy at 11:07 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
I actually have a bug-out bucket in my apartment (in a triplex). Because one of the possible scenarios is that I have to camp in my backyard if the house isn't safe and the streets are blocked so I can't immediately drive out in my car, so I have a bucket with a tarp, some other basic camping stuff, camping toilet paper and disposal bags, and a toilet lid that fits on a 5 gallon bucket. It's probably over-planning as it's a low-probability scenario, most likely the 119 year old house will survive yet another earthquake or I'll be able to drive someone and rent a hotel room, but the other camping supplies will be nice if power/gas is out and I want a hot drink or soup and it's as convenient a place to store them as any. And it also can serve if the house is fine but the water is out.
But I do feel like many bug-out bag scenarios overlook the importance of elimination and sanitation!
posted by tavella at 11:31 PM on February 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
But I do feel like many bug-out bag scenarios overlook the importance of elimination and sanitation!
posted by tavella at 11:31 PM on February 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
In thoughtful scenarios, first you "bug-in". Your home should be stocked for realistic disasters based on your location. Fire, floods, earthquakes, etc…, are pretty standard. The bag is for if your home becomes unsafe. A tree falls through your roof, fire damage, ruptured gas line, or as we saw in East Palestine, massive human disregard for others for the sake of profit. The bag should have clothes, medicine, identity documents, some cash, and whatever you need to get to safe location if the roads are not open (downed trees, flóod or earthquake damage) and you have to walk.
The individuals who plan to make a new life out of a bag fall into two groups, just crazy people and people who know they are playing a game of what if. The crazy ones normally make more interesting copy.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 12:21 AM on February 16, 2023 [4 favorites]
The individuals who plan to make a new life out of a bag fall into two groups, just crazy people and people who know they are playing a game of what if. The crazy ones normally make more interesting copy.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 12:21 AM on February 16, 2023 [4 favorites]
The bug-out bag and its contents reminds me very much of most first aid kits in that it looks good on the store shelf, but a lot of the contents are high profit items or things that are way too specific to be useful in most circumstances (like snake bite kits) or don't have a decent shelf life. The point being, if you have expertise in wilderness survival/camping you could put together a much better bag.
posted by plinth at 5:54 AM on February 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by plinth at 5:54 AM on February 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
I really dislike the term "bug-out" and its Apocalypse-Fantasy implications. If I lived in an earthquake prone area, or one that is in danger of wildfires or landslides or whatever, I'd very much have a stock of drinking water, canned food, a generator, etc to get me through a couple days in an emergency. As it is, the only thing we might get here is a tornado, and even that would be a staggeringly rare occurrence for any specific location. We still carry a blanket and bags of salt in our car even in this age of cell phones and with us never leaving our enormous and sprawling urban/suburban area.
But these pre-made survivalist kits seem ludicrous to me. A mylar emergency blanket? Pliers? Bags of water? It would be easy enough to throw together one of your own and keep it in a closet, just a couple tote bags with necessities.
posted by SoberHighland at 6:58 AM on February 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
But these pre-made survivalist kits seem ludicrous to me. A mylar emergency blanket? Pliers? Bags of water? It would be easy enough to throw together one of your own and keep it in a closet, just a couple tote bags with necessities.
posted by SoberHighland at 6:58 AM on February 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ooh, Blair Braverman! Adding my name to the list of folks who enjoy her work. Not prepper-related, but she was on You're Wrong About telling the story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 and its survivors, and it's a really great episode. I think she thinks about disasters and survival in an interesting and humanizing way.
posted by aka burlap at 8:23 AM on February 16, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by aka burlap at 8:23 AM on February 16, 2023 [9 favorites]
Wow, no mention yet of Small Game? If you liked this article, Blair's other work, or her recent appearances on You're Wrong About, DEFINITELY read Small Game. It really digs into What Survivalism Is All About and I tore through it in a day. She's such a fantastic storyteller. Thanks for sharing this article, OP!
posted by bowtiesarecool at 8:47 AM on February 16, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by bowtiesarecool at 8:47 AM on February 16, 2023 [4 favorites]
The main thought is - why do they think the best thing to do is to run off into the woods? Genuine question. I honestly can't understand it.
Well it really depends upon the threat one is facing. For the most part, no, running off into the literal woods won't be your best bet. But a few adjacent situations that come to mind include:
-Massive earthquake such that most structures in your vicinity are dangerous to inhabit.
-Same for flooding, if "high ground" in your situation is not developed.
-Evacuation that stalls out, trapping people in a largely uninhabited stretch of freeway, requiring an overnight camp
-The shelters provided after an evacuation are too full/dangerous/underprovisioned
The whole "woods" thing seems a bit fantastical/romantic but if you live in a heavily wooded region or are starting from a largely rural one then "the woods" is just ... most of outside. (See the comment above about the potential for a Cascadia region earthquake for example.)
As someone in an area where none of these things are likely, it's total nonsense for me to have a bug-out bag that is heavily camping-focused, but it's not like the situations above have never occurred/could never occur.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:29 AM on February 16, 2023 [7 favorites]
Well it really depends upon the threat one is facing. For the most part, no, running off into the literal woods won't be your best bet. But a few adjacent situations that come to mind include:
-Massive earthquake such that most structures in your vicinity are dangerous to inhabit.
-Same for flooding, if "high ground" in your situation is not developed.
-Evacuation that stalls out, trapping people in a largely uninhabited stretch of freeway, requiring an overnight camp
-The shelters provided after an evacuation are too full/dangerous/underprovisioned
The whole "woods" thing seems a bit fantastical/romantic but if you live in a heavily wooded region or are starting from a largely rural one then "the woods" is just ... most of outside. (See the comment above about the potential for a Cascadia region earthquake for example.)
As someone in an area where none of these things are likely, it's total nonsense for me to have a bug-out bag that is heavily camping-focused, but it's not like the situations above have never occurred/could never occur.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:29 AM on February 16, 2023 [7 favorites]
Marky, I had two of those bags, I took them home when they massively outsourced the IT department. I turned them into a bag of stuff I should throw out and a medkit. The medkit got used and the bag of stuff to throw out got thrown out when I moved out of NYC.
posted by Hactar at 12:15 PM on February 16, 2023
posted by Hactar at 12:15 PM on February 16, 2023
That Alive! episode of YWA may be my favorite of the post-Michael Hobbes era after the ones about Go Ask Alice.
And, yeah, any time I'm tempted to buy a B.O.B., I start with asking myself what the most logical scenario would be, and then look at what I've already got in terms of long-distance cycling gear (first aid kit, personal hygiene stuff, some camping stuff, energy-rich snacks, some good durable bags) and just general gear (decent multitool, durable hand-washable clothes) and think about putting together something out of that. I could use a portable water purifier and maybe a lightweight bivy sack but that's about it.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:53 PM on February 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
And, yeah, any time I'm tempted to buy a B.O.B., I start with asking myself what the most logical scenario would be, and then look at what I've already got in terms of long-distance cycling gear (first aid kit, personal hygiene stuff, some camping stuff, energy-rich snacks, some good durable bags) and just general gear (decent multitool, durable hand-washable clothes) and think about putting together something out of that. I could use a portable water purifier and maybe a lightweight bivy sack but that's about it.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:53 PM on February 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
As always, the mansplaining wilderness survival to Blair Braverman in the comments on Esquire (and even a few comments here) is always entertaining. We laugh so we don't cry or stab them with a tiny ineffectual multi-tool.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:59 AM on February 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 5:59 AM on February 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
Braverman is great. Most sources I am familiar with suggest that it is much better to buy your own bag and outfit it, and that premade bugout bags like this are gimmicky and overpriced.
I have found The Prepared to be a good resource for understanding the various realistic scenarios one might find themself in, and for planning accordingly. It's even-toned and they make a point of distancing from zombie apoc. They too caution against premade kits.
Rational reasons why you should be prepared.
posted by exlotuseater at 7:46 AM on February 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have found The Prepared to be a good resource for understanding the various realistic scenarios one might find themself in, and for planning accordingly. It's even-toned and they make a point of distancing from zombie apoc. They too caution against premade kits.
Rational reasons why you should be prepared.
posted by exlotuseater at 7:46 AM on February 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Because the algorithm never lets me forget that I looked at a thing once, it keeps serving me ads for prepper bags, including one that's stocked for an alien invasion. Includes space for a laptop (Mac-compatible, of course).
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:58 AM on February 21, 2023
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:58 AM on February 21, 2023
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posted by NoxAeternum at 1:10 PM on February 15, 2023 [14 favorites]