I justed remembered that I have a box of raisin granola bars in the trunk. I'll probably be adding a jar of peanut butter soon, as mentioned earlier.

Anyone have any suggestions for a good tire inflator? I think the one I bought last year doesn't cut it.

So far so good on this one I bought around a year ago. After borrowing mine a friend bought the same one and is pleased with it. On sale at the moment on Amazon --

http://www.amazon.com/Slime-COMP06-Power...5292&sr=1-7


The best tire inflator I ever had came from Sears for $19 nearly 20 years ago. It lasted over a decade and fit neatly in my Miata's trunk. Have had a couple clunker tire inflators since but am hopeful that this "Slime" one will endure for awhile.

Murph... not a whole lot to go wrong with an old fashoned two handed bicycle pump, just make sure you get a good locking fill valve..I like the screw on ones... you get some cardio in the process

Not everyone has Miata sizes tires, a hand pump would take about an hour to pump mine up.

All this cold-talk inspired me in the past couple days to pick up a snow shovel at Costco and multiple packs of BIC lighters at Target. And now it inspires me to make hot cocoa....

Best wishes to everyone dealing with these storms and cold.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_wintery_weather

Wind hampers efforts to free drivers on Ind. road

By TOM COYNE, Associated Press – 12 mins ago

LAPORTE, Ind. – More than 70 motorists were stuck for hours Monday in biting temperatures on snow-covered highways in northwest Indiana as strong winds hampered snow plow drivers' efforts to free them. By Monday afternoon, most had been rescued safely, but a few were still trapped by drifts.

Authorities said strong winds with gusts up to 30 mph were delaying rescue efforts.

...Others were trapped overnight on U.S. 30, some for more than 12 hours...

My wife called me this afternoon - "Honey, the kit you put in my trunk is great, but it didn't have an ice scraper!"

(we got about 2" of snow today)

My reply? "Babe, I'm from LA. You're from Wisconsin. Why on earth would I put one in YOUR car??"

(of course, I had 2 in mine - lord knows where hers disappeared to, but it wasn't my truck!)

Funny, I'm in San Diego and there's a like-new ice-scraper I bought years ago under the drivers seat of my truck. Doesn't everyone have an ice-scraper? It's not like you'll always be in the warm & sunny . . .

OK,I'm Guilty,I have one also! Mine has a Brush on the Obverse,& A Squeegy/Sponge on the other end.I have used it a Few times to Scrape the White stuff off the Windshield... No,Not Snow,Seagull Crap,lol!

Someone tipped me about this experience which is highly relevant for this thread:
http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=73649 (no, I'm not a member there).

It is the experiences of a very well prepared couple that got stuck on a highway. They planned to - and were well equipped to - spend as long as necessary in their vehicle, but were ordered to evac by the police, who transported them to a truckstop or whatever. (Whose heating system didn't work, by the way...)


Their story set me thinking: Items dedicated to making indoors sleeping a bit more comfortable may be worth considering. I think most of the people stuck in their vehicles would have preferred to stay in a hotel if available.

Another scenario is that the police or other authorities order you to leave your vehicle, which may or may not be to your liking. (Discussing wether this is within their legal boundaries to do so is another topic - but those cops have a) no reason to believe whatever you say about "being prepared" -after all, most people aren't and what makes you think the cop should consider you as the sole outstanding exception?- and b) if they leave you and something bad happens they will have a very big problem.) Like it or not, legal or not - it will be VERY hard to say "I'm not going anywhere" to a cop that insists on evacuating you when you're stuck in a blizzard.


In either case, having some toiletries such as a toothbrush, a towel and clean underwear will make you stop feeling like a clumsy polar bear at a cocktail party. In my experience, it is no problem roughing it for as long as it takes when I'm in the bush - but I feel highly uncomfortable not being able to clean myself when I'm in a more urban and civilized setting such as a hotel. Not really related to survival, but highly relevant for your comfort and hygiene.

It was an interesting read, but I shook my head when he dumped out a messenger bag, and then loaded it with guns, knives, and electronics as he was being evac'd.