One of my friends -- a different one from the group I'm in -- has asked me about how to start Prepping. This one is more White Collar than Blue, so how he starts will be very similar to how all of us began, but where he goes, how far he gets, and how fast everything happens will be a bit different.
Another Beginning
In a faraway land... okay, it's really the Pacific Northwest, near Seattle. My friend drives a reasonable distance to work, crosses at least one bridge, and can travel further than the office if work demands, but there is nothing extra in the family cars except spare tires. His pantry is about what you'd expect to find in the average non-prepping house: maybe a week's worth of food on the shelf, and a freezer full of food that will turn to mush sooner than they think if the power goes off.
The first thing I was asked was what to do if the family is serious about prepping, but didn't want to spend large amounts of money on preps. I mentioned Get Home Bags, sending him links to one of my posts and everyone's GHB articles. I know the family shops on Amazon and I hope any items purchased there are made using our Amazon Affiliate Referral Link I always post at the bottom of my posts. The basics were also mentioned:
One thing I didn't get to ask was "How ready is the young person in the family?" Able to plan and help out with decision making? Ready to be independent? This is something they must figure out themselves.
In Other News
I have a backup battery I keep with my work gear which gets moved from there to my sling bag when I remember to grab it, but last Saturday I didn't remember. My phone was almost dead and I needed to look up some info, take some pictures and send them to a friend. I ran to Fry's Electronics on the way home and bought a PNY AD7800 7800mAh 1/2.4 Amp Dual Port PowerPack battery to leave in my sling bag. I wanted a battery similar to my current backup, and this fits that spot nicely.
From the Amazon ad:
I don't give this as hard a workout as the Antec Life Bar 10, so having slightly less power available is not critical. It is shorter and thicker than the Life Bar, so it will not fit into my existing phone pouch, but that's fine since it will be in my other bag. With a pre-charge of 28% showing on the screen, I believe I could have almost topped off my phone right out of the box. I don't yet know how long charging the unit to 100% takes, or how much charge is used to get my phone back to full, but that's something I will be testing this weekend.
The Takeaway
Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!
If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!
NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.
- A good quality, medium-sized backpack that can fit into a corner of a car trunk.
- Several liters of water.
- Shelter of some kind. I recommended an emergency blanket at the minimum for his area.
- First Aid kits, one for the car and a smaller one in the pack.
- A stove of some kind and appropriate fuel.
- Fire starters like waterproof matches and BIC lighters.
- Cooking pots, pans and utensils.
- Food. Energy bars at the very least; the details of what kind of food and how much is up to them.
- A Sawyer water filter.
- Clothing for the people in the car, appropriate to the season.
One thing I didn't get to ask was "How ready is the young person in the family?" Able to plan and help out with decision making? Ready to be independent? This is something they must figure out themselves.
In Other News
I have a backup battery I keep with my work gear which gets moved from there to my sling bag when I remember to grab it, but last Saturday I didn't remember. My phone was almost dead and I needed to look up some info, take some pictures and send them to a friend. I ran to Fry's Electronics on the way home and bought a PNY AD7800 7800mAh 1/2.4 Amp Dual Port PowerPack battery to leave in my sling bag. I wanted a battery similar to my current backup, and this fits that spot nicely.
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| PNY 7800 |
- STAY charged: high 7800mAh capacity provides up to 5 charges for your mobile Device when you need it most!
- Works with Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Nexus, HTC one, Motorola Moto, LG, Blackberry, and other Android and Windows smartphones and tablets
- Sleek, aluminum design with digital Display that provides exact battery charge remaining. Integrated LED light allows the power Pack to double as a flashlight for emergency situations.
- Dual universal USB Ports with 1 Amp & 2.4 Amp outputs (2.4 Amp max) charge 2 devices simultaneously. 2 Amp input re-charges the power Pack in half the time.
- Micro-USB cable included for charging devices and the power Pack
I don't give this as hard a workout as the Antec Life Bar 10, so having slightly less power available is not critical. It is shorter and thicker than the Life Bar, so it will not fit into my existing phone pouch, but that's fine since it will be in my other bag. With a pre-charge of 28% showing on the screen, I believe I could have almost topped off my phone right out of the box. I don't yet know how long charging the unit to 100% takes, or how much charge is used to get my phone back to full, but that's something I will be testing this weekend.
The Takeaway
- Another case of influencing people to become preppers through example. Let's all try to be good ones.
- I now have a backup for my backup, which is something I should have gotten before now.
- PNY 7800 backup battery: $9 (!!!) from Amazon with Prime ($10 savings)
- $19.99 purchased from Fry's
Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!
If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!
NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.
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