Prudent Prepping: A LITTLE Shaking Going On

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping.


Just as I was wrapping up my day yesterday afternoon we had an earthquake, followed by a second one 15 minutes later. Where I worked was 15 miles away from the epicenter, but due to all the noise and equipment, no one seemed to notice. I only found out from the all-news station that I listen to for traffic reports on the way home that there were reports of "no damage and things are back to normal."

A USGS scientist then said (paraphrased), "This was a very minor pair of quakes, on a fault line that has quakes of this magnitude regularly. There is no direct connection between the S. California earthquakes and the ones today." A couple texts came in as I was driving, and when I read them both were about the quakes and how to plan for a bigger one, if not The Big One. It forced me to sit down and write a short list for my recently transplanted, young friends. I've done this before, but here is what I wrote:

Short Term

• Minimum of 2 gallons of water per day, per person. How you store it is up to you, but get to a week as soon as possible. I can send you links later. 
• Stock up on your normal food, with things you normally buy. Start thinking about longer storage foods, something like this is a good choice.
• Make sure your existing camping gear is in good shape. The weather here is milder than back home so you don't need anything extra.
• Make sure to search the blog, starting with last week and working through the author list.

Something New
I picked up a new toy to try out, Night Hero Binoculars by BulbHead. 

https://amzn.to/2JJg5qI

From the Amazon page:

• ATOMIC BEAM LASER: Night Hero Binoculars are equipped with a special atomic beam laser that reveals objects in complete darkness up to 150-yards away!
• DAYTIME BINOCULARS: Use during the day for enhanced clarity and contrast with 10x magnification – a must-have for sporting events, sightseeing, hunting, and hiking!
• NEVER MISS A THING: unlike night vision goggles, Night Hero Binoculars have rubber eye cups that give you the most comfortable fit. With a full range of focal adjustments, you’ll never miss a thing!
• COMFORTABLE: take Night Hero Binoculars anywhere – their lightweight design and rubber eyecups make viewing easy.
• INCLUDED: one (1) pair Atomic Beam Night Hero Binoculars

Now, the "atomic beam" is an emitter, so it isn't a night vision binocular that captures ambient light but rather needs something else to illuminate the area you want to search. I've only had them for 3 days and used them for maybe 20 minutes at night, so I can't really talk about battery life or compare this to actual NVG's, but the view is reasonably clear as a binocular and at night I can see much farther than if I just use my eyes. Another point to consider is that since this uses an emitter for viewing, anyone with similar equipment or just light collecting goggles will be able to see where you are. As I'm not worried about being spotted by other people, I think I'm okay. Besides, I can't afford to spend the several hundred dollars up to the price of a nice used car for proper NVGs.

Recap and Takeaway

• It's good to know friends and co-workers are listening and not laughing when prepping questions are asked. 
• Prepping is a journey and not a destination for me, my family and friends, especially since none of us are rich. 
• One set of Night Hero Night Vision binoculars were purchased locally for $39.95 but Amazon has used ones from $28.51.

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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.