The Survival Weekly Dispatch - Volume 12, Issue 3

Hey everyone, thanks for checking out the newsletter this week. I’ve been basically chained to the keyboard for the last few days. Some of you might remember that my magazine publisher canceled Prepper Survival Guide several months ago. Well, given all of the disasters in the last few months, from the hurricane and flooding in Asheville and surrounding communities to the wildfires in LA, many people are looking for ways to get started with prepping or fine tune their current efforts. So, I managed to convince my publisher to do a special edition of Prepper Survival Guide magazine. It’ll come out at the end of February. Here’s the current cover design.

Again, this one comes out at the end of February, so it isn’t out there just yet. I’ll share a reminder when it hits stores.

I know a lot of you were disappointed when the publisher discontinued Prepper Survival Guide. I have high hopes that if this one sells well, they’ll consider bringing it back as a quarterly publication.

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Correction – one of my newsletter subscribers alerted me to a bit of incorrect information I shared last week. In a discussion about active shooters, I wrote:

It’s best not to run in a straight line, if you can avoid doing so. Move at an angle away from the attack and make quick movements to make it more difficult for them to get a bead on you.

That’s incorrect. It was debunked by Greg Ellifritz some time ago. You can read his excellent article about it here.

Speed, as it turns out, is more important than zig-zagging. I highly recommend reading his article in full, as there is ton of great information there.

My apologies on sharing less than accurate information. I’ll try to do better.

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I’ve seen Get Home Bags and Bug Out Bags being discussed a fair bit on social media the last few days, due to the California wildfires. Let’s talk about it.

I recommend avoiding premade kits. Making your own is going to result in a much higher quality kit. And I say this as a guy who has designed kits. Even with the best of intentions, manufacturers inevitably cut corners to save costs.

I think a good way to begin the process is to imagine this scenario. Your spouse or significant other surprises you with a three-day weekend trip out of town. What would you pack? Probably clothes, toiletries, any essential prescription meds you take, and your standard EDC, right? That will provide you with a good base for your evacuation kit.

Add important documents. These can be saved to a thumb drive to make it easier. Password protect it as you’d like. Include on the thumb drive contact info for your insurance companies (home, auto, health, life), photos of your vehicles showing the VINs and license plates, a quick video inventory of your home and belongings, and scanned copies of any particularly treasured family photos. This is obviously something you’d set up well in advance of evacuation.

If you have pets in the mix, don’t forget them. Food, water, leash/harness, crate/cage (if applicable), and vet records are all essential.

Don’t overlook the importance of eye protection, such as goggles, and a good quality mask to help mitigate the effects of smoke. These could also prove useful in other emergency situations. Remember 9/11 and the billowing clouds of dust and dirt covering everyone?

Strive to keep a good amount of emergency cash on hand and easily accessible. If the power goes out, gas stations and stores likely won’t accept credit cards. Have enough for 1-2 tanks of gas, a couple of nights at a motel, and food on the road for a few days.

Include a good quality water filter as well as 1-2 liters of water, and enough food to sustain you for at least 1-2 days. Nothing fancy, just calories to keep you going. Hopefully you’ll be able to find open restaurants or grocery stores once you land somewhere.

If small children are part of the family, don’t forget diapers, wipes, diaper cream, formula, bottles, and all that fun stuff. Don’t forget feminine hygiene products for the women in the family.

In most cases, you’re not going to be best served by running off to the woods, Red Dawn style. Instead, you’ll be headed to a motel or maybe the home of a friend or family member. With that in mind, ear plugs and an eye mask can help you get quality sleep in an unfamiliar environment.

Have a small portable radio so you can tune in to emergency broadcasts and news reports. If cell towers are down, getting online with your phone might be problematic. Remember that text messages can sometimes get through when calls can’t, so try texting to communicate with family members.

Have a small supply of any prescription meds you need on a daily basis, along with a good quality first aid kit and OTC meds for common ailments (stomach issues, pain/fever, cold/flu, etc.).

Add power banks and charger cords and plugs for your phone and other devices. Use the wall plugs whenever possible and reserve the power banks for when plugs aren’t an option. Boredom relievers, such as a deck of cards, puzzle books, and such aren’t bad to have. Nothing big or heavy, just a few things to keep everyone occupied if surfing social media isn’t an option.

A good quality knife and flashlight, perhaps a multi-tool as well. Most of us carry those items on a daily basis anyway, but spares in your evac kit aren’t the worst idea.

This isn’t intended to be a full, comprehensive list of every single thing you might consider putting in an evacuation kit. Consider it more of a starting point to get your mind thinking about what would be best for your individual situation.

Remember that the bag and kit are only part of the evacuation equation. Plan ahead so you have a couple of good options for where you can go in a crisis.

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A little more than ten years ago, I was asked to participate in the Make Ready to Survive video series with Panteao Productions. We spent a full week in Florida filming countless hours of instructional videos on everything from water storage to civil unrest and more. It remains one of the highlights of my career.

I learned recently that Panteao is making all of their videos available for FREE. You can find the Make Ready to Survive series here.

If you’re into weapons, you’ll want to peruse the rest of their site as well. They have a metric ton of great content with some of the biggest names in the industry.

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Our hike was very short this week, for a variety of reasons. It was just a quick stroll through Springs Park in Delavan, Wisconsin. We had our adorable granddaughter with us, as well as one of our doggos.

Survival Tip – Ergonomics and Survival Gear

[I’ve been jammed up with deadlines the last few days, so I hope you’ll forgive me rerunning a previously published tip.]

Ergonomics is the science or study of the efficiency of people in the workplace. I’m old enough to remember when this was a new buzzword and employers were all talking about how to improve it. For a while, offices around the country were filled with ever more confusing pieces of apparatus that were supposed to improve efficiency while also reducing stress-related injuries, though I’m not sure of the success rate in either of those categories. The term has also come to refer to the design cues or features of an object and how they work to improve the efficiency or comfort when it is in use.

When I review a knife or other piece of kit, the “ergos” of the product are always one of the areas of focus. How does it feel in use? Is it comfortable or awkward? Are there risks of hot spots or other problems if you’re using it for a while?

In the prepper and survival world, we sometimes concentrate on being able to make do with whatever we have. And that’s absolutely a great mindset to have, no question about it, as there are times when you don’t have the luxury of options or choices. However, that doesn’t mean we need to entirely forget the concept of purchasing gear that is comfortable for us to use.

If a new piece of equipment is awkward to carry, if it is cumbersome to use, if it just doesn’t feel right, you’ll find reasons to leave it behind. That negates the whole point of having it. What good is survival equipment if it isn’t available to you when you need it?

What works best for you isn’t likely to work best for every single other person and what another person feels is whiz-bang awesome might be lukewarm at best for you. We’re all built differently, from hand size and strength to length of reach, height, weight, and more. This is why it is critically important to play around with and test out new gear. That’s the only way you’ll find out if it works well for you.

Roughing it is great and being able to tough it through whatever is to be commended. But don’t look for ways to make the job even harder on yourself. Seek out gear and equipment that is ergonomic and compatible with your body structure.

Backwoods Survival Guide Magazine

For those new to my little corner of the Internet, I am the Editor in Chief for Backwoods Survival Guide magazine. Here is the cover for the current issue available in stores right now.

You can find Backwoods Survival Guide just about anywhere magazines are sold, including:

• Walmart

• Sam's Club

• Costco

• Publix

• Walgreens

• Rite Aid

• CVS

• Tractor Supply

• Fleet Farm

• Barnes & Noble

Subscriptions are available here.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, Concerns?

I am always just an email away - jim@survivalweekly.com.