Levels of Preparedness Equipment - Part 1; Bags and Knives

Nearly every prepper I know has a budget in which to purchase their gear across all the categories of preparedness. From firearms to heirloom seeds to bunkers buried deep in the ground, those preparing for a disaster or disruptive event need to carefully spend hard-earned dollars to leverage their priorities. Whether you have a budget of $1,000 or $1,000,000, what you buy and how much you spend can define your level of preparedness over all. Spending $10 on a knife that breaks the first time you use it as opposed to spending $125 on a knife that lasts you 30 years can mean the difference between life and death in a survival situation, but that has to be balanced with what you can afford. I've always said there's a fine line of benefit between having cheap gear and having no gear at all. A $10 knife that breaks after cutting a cord at least cut the cord before it failed, for instance. 

Over time most prepper budget's grow and with greater funding comes the ability to afford better quality gear. Also, with the ability for online selling, such as on Facebook Marketplace, Ebay and others, we preppers can engage in virtual swap meets, selling our older gear and buying better stuff cheaper either new or as 'gently used'. With that in mind let's break down levels of new, store-bought prep gear based on what you can afford. 

For this installment we'll start with the most expensive components of your 72-hour kit - Bags and Knives. We'll cover home and vehicle prep kits in later segments. I may also delve into other gear such as water filtration systems and first aid kits later down the road. 

Disclaimer: I am not getting any 'kick back' for listing these items, and this post is in no way meant to be an endorsement of any company or product. The pricing I list for any individual item is as of the writing of this post, and sale prices are tagged with '(s)'. This list is also meant to be a 'basic' break down regarding bags and knives, and will not cover all aspects of either. It is meant to be a reference for those starting a preparation plan and 72-hour bag or those seeking to improve their existing plan or kit.

Bags

The actual bag packed for bugging out or evacuation is critical. At the lowest tier a bag must meet the following criteria.

1. Size; to accommodate three days worth of supplies and gear, a bag should not be smaller than 50 liters, and preferably 60 liters or even larger depending on the physical stature and athletic capability of the person hauling it.
2. Material; a bag should be made of a solid composition, such as a heavy nylon or milspec canvas in quality. The bag should be resilient enough to track through heavy brush and woodland or grind along brick and mortar buildings in an urban environment without tearing and spilling your supplies all over the ground.
3. Appearance; having a solid tactical, military-looking bag is all badass and such, but can draw unnecessary attention. It just screams, "Hey look, that guy has stuff," and can give the impression that you're a(n active) member of the military. I strongly sway towards a hiker's backpack that will call less attention to you.

Not only is your bag arguably the most important component of your 72 hour kit, it can likely be the most expensive. Pricing varies widely based on material and layout.

• Inexpensive: Walmart.com, Aibecy Hiking pack - $56.49.
• Mid-cost: Dicks Sporting Goods, High Sierra Pathway - $109.99
• Expensive: REI, Osprey Traverse - $229.00
• Richy-rich: REI, Osprey Aether Plus - $350.00

Other Considerations

Aside from the three required criteria above, backpacks come with a host of options to be considered, such as fit, weight distribution, expandability, and load-out configuration. When shopping for a bug-out bag with my fiancé, we went to REI to check out their selection. One thing I really like about REI is you can test the gear. They have weighted sacks you can use to simulate gear and load up your chosen backpack then you can try it on and see how it fits on your physical frame. I picked two packs within our budget and my fiancé snagged the cheapest one and headed to the checkout. I told her she needed to load it up with the weights and try it on to which she replied with a shrug, "Why, it's a backpack. They're all the same", but she headed to the table to load them up and try them anyway. I stepped away to shop for survival food and when I came back she had the other pack in her hand. "Yeah, this one feels a lot better with stuff in it" she admitted. Trying out a backpack and having a plan on how you want to load it can help with the decision on where those precious dollars go, too.

Knives

Having a good quality knife on hand cannot be over stated. Still, some of the best knives I've had throughout my life have cost me less than $50. One of those funny "psychological ironys" I've seen and experienced is spending $100 or more on a knife and not using it because "You don't want to mar it or mess it up," but the cheap $25 knife that you don't care as much about is the one you drop in your EDC and becomes your favorite because you use it every day.

In this section I'll break down knives and offer tiers for folder and fixed-blade options. For the fixed-blade options I required them to be full tang, but didn't go into other qualities (such as steel type, length, shape, etc) for the purpose of scope.

• Inexpensive: 
• Folder - Ozark Trail 3.25, $7.46
• Fixed - Ozark Trail "survival" knife, $18.73
• Mid-cost:
• Folder - Cabela's Function EXF-A, $19.99
• Fixed - Cabela's Expedition, $24.99
• Expensive:
• Folder - Gerber Sumo, $44.95
• Fixed - Gerber StrongArm, $74.95 (<Author's favorite)
• Richy-rich:
• Folder - Benchmade 535-3 Bugout Knife - $279.00
• Fixed - Benchmade 162 Bushcrafter, $234.00

Other Considerations

Even more than backpacks, knives come with extensive options and features all focused around intention. Blade shape, composition, and length all vary, as can handle and over-all weight. Other options of a knife purchase might include a good sheath and even accessories, such as ferro rods, that may come packaged with the knife itself. Depending on your knife budget, spending just a few more dollars may offer a considerable upgrade.

Final Thoughts

Upgrading is the key to maintaining and improving a solid preparedness posture, and everyone who has a preparedness plan should always seek to better their position through improving their gear. Regarding the conflict between the cheapest of gear and no gear at all, I believe in having at least the cheapest of gear. I'll work up from there.

Peace.

End of the World Lessons from the Last Six Years

 As Things Once Were

Travel back in time a mere 10 years and I was watching episodes of Doomsday Preppers and scoffing at the majority of the semi-misguided preppers highlighted who were all preparing for some unlikely apocalyptic event. From nuclear war to an asteroid strike, or the most-referenced financial collapse of the United States, the people profiled on the program seemed almost obsessed and more than a little delusional when it came to the end of the world as we know it. I vividly recall one woman who was prepping for a pandemic and took great steps to purify and fortify her home against such an event.  

All-in-all most of the apocalyptic events people on the program were preparing for were all going to happen in the short term, and if you weren't prepared now it was too late; you were to become one of the many instant casualties when "x" apocalypse happened. The pandemic was going to happen within the next five years. The financial collapse and resulting social uprisings and government lock downs were all to happen within three to five years. An asteroid strike? - any time with just a few seconds notice. All of it seemed laughable....

And Now

...fast forward to today and some of those episodes and the preparations people were taking aren't all that laughable, nor unbelievable. In the last 5+ years we've lived through a very real global pandemic, severe social disruption caused by racial, political, and administrative tensions, and now, as of the writing of this post, a very real war between Russia and the Ukraine. Some of those people and the apocalyptic events they feared on Doomsday Preppers seem almost prophetic, now. However, that begs the question, how accurate were those who predicted and prepared for pandemic, social uprising, or even war? Let's get into a bit of detail surrounding just a few of the events which have occurred within the last five to six years.

1. 2016; Social and political division resulting from the results of a Presidential election.
2. 2019 - 2020; The start of the COVID-19 global pandemic and resulting shut down within the United States. Several protests are waged against mask and vaccination throughout the timeline of the pandemic.
3. 2020; the murder of George Floyd which triggered a wide-spread series of protests surrounding racial inequalities, most of which turned violent and resulted in looting.
4. 2020 - 2021; a hotly contested Presidential election steeped in conspiracy and culminating in violence framed in the events of January 6, 2021.
5. 2021; the resurgence of a highly contagious strain of COVID-19, Omicron, which dramatically rises infection numbers. Protests and other forms of threats against government and scientific officials around mask and vaccine mandates continue.
6. 2022; Russia invades Ukraine and elevates their nuclear readiness in response to global reaction against the invasion.

A Bit of a Disappointment - or a Dose of Reality?

The list above is pretty dramatic and impacting, and doesn't even cover all of what has transpired within the time frame, but these are the largest talking points when it comes to the last five to six years. Surely the sheer volume of events all rapidly occurring within this relatively small timeline is something to be concerned about, but how does this list compare to doomsday or SHTF/TEOTWAWKI proponents and their predictions?

I remember when the COVID-19 pandemic started in full swing and the U.S. went into lockdown there were several memes that hit the Interwebs mentioning, "I was promised a zombie apocalypse and all I got was "don't touch your face" and "wash your hands."" Where I live in central Indiana, we saw very few social protests or riots, and when the vaccine was announced and offered it showed that modern medical science had come through and provided an effective response to the pandemic. We were able to continue relatively stable and normal lives. Sure, we were secluded into working from home, myself and most of my friends on a permanent basis, but we were still able to take camping and hiking vacations, safely travel to Arizona and visit friends, and even expand our preparations and stocks under the threat of a diminished supply chain. 

Yes, there are disruptions. Yes there are extreme levels of stress that come from all of the factors listed above and more. However, despite each avenue a true apocalypse has failed to happen. People still go to work, spend time with their families, go to concerts and sporting events, and engage in all of the life tasks you'd expect even in the best of times, so how has this cumulative apocalypse failed?

A Swing and a Miss - several misses, actually.

1. Impact - Ten years ago it was claimed that the next pandemic would "kill millions". Citizens protesting both political and social issues claimed they would wreak havoc "across every state and in every neighborhood" until their voices were heard. It was also predicted that when supply chains would be disrupted people would start to starve in a 'matter of days' and that would lead to crimes of desperation on a scale never seen. Simply put, none of these came to pass. The COVID-19 pandemic did kill 5.97 million people (as of today), but compared to the 7.6 billion humans still populating this planet that number is pittance. The fact is that the impact of these apocalyptic events on the average human's life has been minimal.
2. Timeline - First I'd argue that the apocalypse just didn't measure up to the speed in which it was supposed to occur, and when events happen slow enough, we clever little humans can adapt and adjust to them quite nicely.  The U.S. economy did not fail in the three to five years as expected. Store shelves didn't empty after three days when the supply chain was disrupted as we were told they would. I'm still waiting for those "Chinese tanks" to come roaring down my street as I was promised would occur if the current President was elected. As of today the number of infections from COVID-19 are lower than they have been since the start, and they continue to decline, so even after two years of the pandemic we're not seeing bodies in the streets.
3. Location - At the time of this posting things are pretty bad in Ukraine and Russia, both. Canada and the U.S. are seeing protests by truckers who are upset about vaccination mandates required to move across the borders. These protesters have affected Ottawa in Canada and are expected to roll into Washington DC around the say of this posting, but what about the rest of the country, or even the rest of the world? Here in central Indiana we've seen a strong bump in gas and some grocery prices, but those are manageable, otherwise it's business as usual. The most impacting events are extremely regional, in other words, with disruptions and 'bumps' in normal daily life only occurring in relatively small pockets across the globe and the U.S. I'm sorry, but isn't the apocalypse supposed to affect each and every human on the planet, or at least the majority of us?

Huh. Friendly zombies. Who knew?

There are a few other disappointing factors, too. For instance since there are no zombies the satisfying activity of stabbing or decapitating shambling corpses as was promised is sadly missing. Severe mutations of heroic proportions as a result of nuclear radiation have also not occurred as expected. In short, despite all of the hype and anxiety by doomsday preppers, the apocalypse falls flat in several areas; it's just not as bad as what we were told it was going to be.

But...what's next?

Although I'm knocking the so-called TEOTWAWKI events experienced in the last five to six years as being nothing more than 'meh', I'm by no means underestimating what could come next, or even what could develop within the scope of these events going forward.  Here's a quick run down of what could come next that could make matters much worse and may, possibly, just live up to some of that lacking
hype...

1. 
   A new pandemic or a major resurgence in COVID-19; Although, as I said, numbers, fatalities, and infection rates surrounding the current pandemic continue to dramatically decline, all it would take is a new variant with Omicron's virility but a lot more lethal and we could start to see a sharp turn towards a true apocalypse. Additionally, just because COVID-19 is on the decline does not mean another pandemic level event couldn't kick off on COVID's heels; one which is far more lethal and viral than the one we just experienced and there are lot of solid scientific and medical reasons to support why that very think could happen. Viruses are like dictators; when one is eliminated or reduced it leaves a power vacuum ripe for the rise of another.
2. Renewed violence rooted in social or political events; At this point the United States continues to experience extreme lines of division and separation when it comes to it's citizens. Here in the year 2022, several federal level elections are occurring which could shift the balance of power and kick off additional protests and strengthen those divisions, and the next election year, 2024, is expected to be hotly contested with some of the anticipated candidates already laying groundwork around electoral fairness and equality. Depending on how things in those elections turn out, violent protests may emerge in late 2024 and beyond. Even without the harsh feelings surrounding elections, people are on edge regarding the rising gas and food prices as a result of the war between Russia and the Ukraine. Such things can continue to spur sporadic protests which could easily turn violent as a result of anger, frustration, and fear. 
3. Nuclear war; Yeah, this is the biggie, and it's an even greater possibility than I've seen in my past...and I was a teenager throughout the 1980s so I've seen some pretty frightening rhetoric around nuclear war in my life. The fact of the matter is, the invasion of the Ukraine isn't going as smoothly or quickly as expected by the Russian leadership. Ukraine is turning out to be more militarily resilient than anticipated. Couple that with the fact that 99% of the other countries on the globe are lashing out, in some fashion, against Russia for the blatant and unprovoked invasion and you have a very formidable super power backed into a corner by the rest of the world. Additionally that super power is currently being lead by someone who's been described as 'unstable' or 'off' in recent weeks and months, and that 'someone' also holds the keys to a massive nuclear arsenal. Plus, that 'someone' comes from a society and culture where it's considered very weak to back down or lose once you're fully committed to a task. All of that is a potent formula for a nuclear exchange which could escalate into Mad Max becoming a reality. 

Stress

On a side-note, the affects of stress in this day and age cannot be overstated. Stress causes people to lash out, act irrationally, break down and separate themselves from friends and family, follow irrational motivations and information, and even perform violence against their own country. The last five to six years have been stressful, to say the least, and although they've not lived up to the world-ending apocalyptic hype they've caused an enormous amount of stress among the people of the United States and the world in general. Dealing constructively or effectively with stress falls on a person's personality and skill in stress management...a skill set very few people have. Most of the time doomsday doesn't have to occur suddenly or affect everybody across the world...peoples reactions and responses to it can still be dramatic and unreasonable....which in turn leads to yet another stress factor in the form of social and cultural protest and violence. It's very much cyclical.

Final Thoughts

So, the apocalypses of the pandemic, political and social disruption, and even the most recent war have failed to end the world in the time or to the degree as promised. It's still a case where the next few years can be telling about TEOTWAWKI but if history is an indicator the pandemic will continue to diminish to the point it's no longer a pandemic, Russia will back down from it's aggression, and some more moderate politicians will step into the limelight and ease tensions throughout the United States to bring us back to being, well, united. And if not? Well, that's why we prepare; Hope for the Best. Prepare for the Worst.

Peace.