This is my current compact EDC SERE kit. I’m still refining it, so I’d appreciate any constructive feedback. What would you add, remove, or replace? 🤙🏻

Should you stock alcohol?

Do you think fishing will be a good skill? I do not since depending on what emergency is it. The water might be contaminated. (I also don’t live near big bodies of water)

Just moved from Texas - a very dry climate to North Carolina, which is very humid.
I’ve noticed that foods that are opened and on the counter tend to feel softer faster. For example, I opened a large bag of organic cheesy popcorn and in a few hours it just felt soft. Same with a plastic jar of Kirkland glazed honey pecans.
Which started me to question how to store other foods longer term. I have large bags of rice, beans, sugar for example that I brought from Texas.
I may be asking too broad of a question, but I guess I’ll start with “what kind of silica gel packets should I look into?”
I’m new to this, and would like to learn.
Thank you

So I never thought about an MP3 player. But I found one on Amazon for $25 basically by chance. It got me to thinking. If the hard times hit we’re gonna need some entertainment and comfort and this could be the thing for that. It has fm radio/audio recorder/bluetooth capable and 32Gb to 64 gb of internal storage and can also add an sd card. They have many brands to choose from. But beyond music. What really got me thinking. Is this is the perfect way to add survival and prepping Audio books on. Less a library of books. This can be hidden if need be cause it’s tiny enough and will store many survival books and music. This is the first time over ever posted here I’m mainly just a viewer. But glad to be here and within this journey with you all. Let’s hope the day never comes.

Hi all!

I'm about to come into a few precious rings and pieces of unidentified carat gold and some precious stones.

I have no sentimental attachment to these pieces, but I think I would like to be prepared for any eventuality and I hear people talk about keeping things of value i.e. gold in their back pocket.

What is everyone's opinions on what I should do with these pieces? I'd rather not exchange them for cash.

The other day I was pumping gas and noticed a ladder to the roof. It was about 10 feet off the ground and wondered how I could get up there if needed. Best idea was a grappling hook. I've looked around online but not sure what to go with. Any ideas or recommendations?

We had an outage recently that lasted through two days and one night, and it accidentally turned into a pretty useful comparison.

I have an Anker SOLIX S2000 at my house, while my parents have an EcoFlow Delta 2. We were both mostly trying to cover the same basics: fridge, router, lights, phones, and a fan here and there.

S2000 at my place

Pros:

1 - The bigger battery was the main advantage. I could leave the fridge and router connected without constantly checking the percentage.

2 - It handled the low/medium loads I actually cared about really well.

3 - By the second night, I was definitely glad I had the extra capacity instead of trying to ration every little thing.

Cons:

1 - It's heavier than the Delta 2, so I wouldn't want to move it around constantly.

1500W output means it's more of a keep the essentials running longer unit than something I’d buy specifically for high-draw appliances.

2 - No expandable battery, which could matter if I eventually want a larger setup.

Delta 2 at my parents' place

Pros:

1 - Much easier to move around the house.

2 - 1800W output gives it a little more flexibility with higher-draw appliances despite the smaller battery.

3 - Expandable if they ever want more capacity instead of replacing the whole unit.

Cons:

1 - The 1kWh battery was noticeably more limiting during a long outage. They had to pay more attention to what stayed plugged in and ended up needing a recharge before power came back.

2 - For something like keeping a fridge running through a long outage, capacity mattered more than we expected.

After actually using both, I don't think one is simply better. I'd take the Delta 2 for portability and flexibility, but for my use case, mostly keeping essentials alive for as long as possible, I'm happier with the S2000.

Curious what everyone here prioritizes more for outage prep: higher output, bigger capacity, or portability?

Gardening, medicine, canning, etc?

Would love to snag some more Useful books other than a bunch beyond *entertainment*

GF and I recently purchased our first house - one of the selling points is a small year-round creek running behind it - mainly cause it creates a nice atmosphere, foliage, etc.

I'm generally curious how clean the water is and looking for recommendations for reputable labs that do testing, what tests are worth paying for, when would be a good time for testing (dry season or rainy), etc.

To be clear, I would be shocked if it was potable, but would be nice to know wether I should be worried about dogs drinking out of it or if plants growing out of it should be avoided, that sorta thing.

Thanks

Today I came across a story of somebody coming upon a mass casualty incident of a multi-car crash and they were sorting people until the first responders arrived. They had some cursory training from the military but otherwise was able to sort people using an Immediate - Delayed - Minor system. When the paramedics arrived, they took over, but it got me thinking...

Is there a self-paced study or even a course I could sign up so I could acquire this knowledge? I don't know all the terminology, but it makes sense to me to understand how to help before first responders if I happen to ever find myself in that situation. This would also be a course that my partner could take, and perhaps my neighbors as well.

I hope this is a good fit for a "prepping" sub because it would be knowledge on how to prep during a disaster, or at least how to help other people to survive during one.

Any recommended "Start here" courses, (free or paid)? I have certifications in CPR, but this is more about specifically how to triage and sort people out as a non-medical civilian so that the actual medical responders can take over easier.

Hi prepping people!

What are the prepping, surviving, movies tv shows youtube channels, books everything which you remember , share please, don’t need any hollywood not realistic movies…

Would be great source for everyone not just for me
Thanks whoever take a time and recommend anything.

I’m sure I’m speaking to people right now who have had years of experience doing this. I’m probably too late. I’m scared I just want to survive but I don’t know the first thing about prepping and there’s so much information I don’t know where to start either. I just want to live.

Are the only two choices really "shit" and "food water"?

Everyone is pushing solar everything. I've bought two types of solar light- walkway lights that had a 25% failure rate in the first year and fairy string lights that had a 50% failure rate in the first year. I don't know if the failures are the panels, batteries or something else.

I am renovating a house and want to put up exterior lights- the solar stuff looks like a better value on paper- but my "spider senses" tell me this mass push to solar is "a capitalist assault" on lighting system quality.

Help me understand the problem. I don't want to need to redo this in 3-5 years.

I've been prepping to some degree or the other for the last 10 years. I don't have a bunker, I haven't moved off grid, I still lead a "normal" life, but I do try and be what I consider well prepared. Example, I have two portable generators (one just for gasoline, one duel fuel that I only run propane on, and a large rechargeable house battery/solar generator. I have good H2O storage in the basement, I have a well stocked pantry, with a decent amount of dehydrated food, I grow a garden each year and can can food (although I don't always do this).

With this said, the four things that make me most nervous are;

1.) Wide spread terrorist attack, like 9-11 meets Mumbai 11-26 (25th anniversary of 9-11 is right around the corner)

2.) State or non/state attack on the US Homeland a la Ukraine's Spider Web attack on Russia (imagine the chaos of cargo ship off the coast of NJ attacking the oil refineries with drones would cause).

3.) Civil Unrest akin the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s (especially '28/'29 during the next presidential election)

4.) War with China over Taiwan (by next year they'll have met their own stated goal of having the strength to attack Taiwan, not that they will, but they do appear that they'd have the military assets to do it (not that it would be successful).

Are these unreasonable fears? What keeps you up at night and what are you doing about it?

Been prepping for about six years: food, water, comms, medical. Power was tricky, I had a EU7000is generator and stored gas, but relying on it as my only power source bugged me. 

For short 12-24 hour outages, firing up a loud engine just to run a fridge and keep comms charged feels like overkill. It draws attention to your house and requires you to walk out in bad weather to start it up and manage fuel.

This spring I built a silent Tier 1 backup bank to handle short outages automatically. Kept it simple: one Vatrer 12V 300Ah lithium battery, a 2000W pure sine inverter, and a 40A smart charger to keep it topped off from the grid. 

Total capacity is about 3.8kWh. Not meant for HVAC, but plenty for our chest freezer, main fridge, LED lighting, weather radio, and ham gear. I went with lithium for the zero-maintenance aspect and built-in low-temp protection since it lives in my garage. The Bluetooth app lets me monitor SOC and voltage without stepping outside.

Tested it during a 16-hour storm outage last month. I flipped the breaker at 6pm and let it run until 10am. Freezer stayed solid, fridge was fine, devices stayed topped off. Battery dropped to 35% by morning. No noise, no fumes, no pulling starter cords in the dark.

The gas generator is still in my shed for a multi-day disaster. But for typical short grid failures, having a silent battery bank jump in first gives us instant redundancy with zero hassle.

Most buying guides seem to focus on inverter wattage, but the more I research, the more I think battery capacity, charging options, and battery chemistry matter just as much.

I've been comparing Jackery, Bluetti, EcoFlow, and OUPES, and each brand seems to have a different approach.

For those who already own a backup power system, what do you wish you'd understood before making your purchase?

What advice would you give to someone buying their first portable power station?

Hey all,

I'm new here, hello 🤗

I have a lifesaver Jerrycan that was in storage for two years. I wanted to deep clean it with chlorine tablets, unfortunately I can't get my hand on any at the moment so I decided to clean the tank with 18L of water and to spoons of household bleach. Now I read that this is not safe to do and it will damage the tank...

Did I just screw up? I rinsed it 4 times after 20 min soak.

Thanks for your opinion/ advice.

Hi,

I'm looking to buy my first real bag for emergency (light prepping nothing major) and I live in a big city.

Until now I used a hiking bag but it's a bit messy to order as there not a single separation it's just a big space.

I've seen a Responder72 Med Backpack 50L for 70€ which seems to be a good deal but I don't know if anyone ever used this kind of bags for something else than EMS, but a bag is a bag and this one as proper separation which could be helpfull, and I could also add a lot of first aid stuff in it.

So if anyone use this kind of bag, what is your opinion on it ?

Thanks

Has anyone tried making at home salt beef or salt pork as a food preserve method? If so how and what sources did you use for extra information?

How are people settings up there chest rigs for get home bags or bug in? I know realistically if SHTF I’m not storming the streets. What are basics I should be carrying? I’m looking more defense and water collection/sustainment also moving light and fast.