New member with questions about: watches, survival

Hi all first time poster here

New to this area but with disasters lately and terrorism want to be ready.

After living with small car small apartment etc. I am ready to settle down a bit more with perhaps a larger house, more practical vehicle, and most importantly carry around what I need for emergencies and be ready for anything and enjoy the outdoors more.

1) First question: I want a watch that's great for survival and luxurious (by that I mean good looking watch and I wouldn't mind spending $100 or so). I think I also want a compass on it. Anything fit this description? Solar would be cool too.

2) I want a good book on survival and/or hunting. I own 1 handgun and looking into perhaps a bow/arrow. I heard there's an SAS survival book that's good.

3) Anything else I should know? I also am looking into Leatherman for a multitool everyday carry.

4) Vehicle: Considering a diesel truck. Because it's cheaper and big/versatile. Prefer a pickup over a SUV but may get SUV if nothing much available.

Anything else? Hi all. Introduce yourself if you have a second. And maybe why you joined here!

Howdy,

I'm new here too, but I did want to offer my opinion on the SAS book. I think it is excellent. I bought one to keep in both of our cars...eventually to be part of a more complete kit.

It is thorough and I think takes a very realistic perspective on most if not all aspects of survival.

If you get this book, be sure to get the one with the plastic cover. If memory serves, older editions of the book don't have it. Just my opinion.

I've been thinking about a bow myself. I can't justify going to the local sporting goods store and spending $600 or $700 on one though. I hate to say it, but I'm really thinking about putting one I saw at Wal-Mart on layaway, and hope it's not too much of a POS.

I look forward to recommendations people give you about watches...I'd like something similar.

From someone new here, welcome! You've made a good choice joining!

Watch: don't get a compass one, carry a separate compass. Nice watch is the Casio Forester FT200 ( http://www.bythom.com/casio.htm ) which is about $25 on ebay. Its cutest feature is it tells you the time of sunrise and sunset, which is very handy outdoors. They have some other watches with that feature too, which I don't like as much. YMMV.

My impression of diesels is they really want to run hot, so they make the most sense if you're going to drive them all day. They're inefficient and polluting if you use them on short trips so the engine is usually not warm. On the plus side, if your home is oil heated (probably an insane choice to make these days) you can run the truck on fuel oil in an emergency (Fuel oil is dyed and inspection can find dye residue in the tank, but in bad enough circumstances you do what you can).

$600 for a bow and arrow? That sounds nuts, I'm sure there's decent ones a lot cheaper.

Hi and Welcome

Firstly I like to say I found this site by looking for info like yourself, and I weeded out all the sites from my favourites back to this one.
I live in Australia, so I have to adapt a lot of what I read to suit local conditions/Southern Hemishere etc.

I would recomend reading through the links on the ETS Home page about Disaster Prep and Survival Kits etc. Its a good place to start with a lot of good info, and you can fire questions back in here as you go.

I response to your questions:
1- Watches: I use 2 watches. My main watch is a Seiko Pilot Watch. Over the past 25 years Seiko has been the most reliable I have owned, and this model has a Flight computer around the bezel which I use all the time. (no I am not a pilot) It also looks good.
My second watch is a Casio with a compass, barometer and temperature. (I never use Temp) I use this when bush walking, camping etc. Its a little bulky, and mine is a bit ugly but they have released better looking models now.
My others are left in the draws these days including a 20 year old Seiko still running strong.

Compass alternatives: I have a Silva (Brunton in the US) compass which slips over a watch band, but since buying the Casio it is now stashed into one of my kits.
I have also a Suunto clipper which I found is better. I keep it clipped on the money pocket of my trousers wherever I go with an Ultimate Survival JetScream whistle and it is easily clipped onto a watch or shirt etc when needed.
DONT use your watch as your only compass. When the batteries go flat have a backup ready. Even when I'm bush walking etc I have the Suunto clipper on my pocket and I have an orienteering class compass in my pack. (& GPS)

2- Books: I have the SAS Survival handbook and a Firstaid Manual stashed in my kits but in a waterproof contianer. Its a good book. I also have 98.6 degrees (see Dougs Picks on the ETS Homepage) which I would also recomend.

3- Multi tools: Its a personal preference. If its your first call into some camping stores etc and have a good look at them. I have many. My most used is a Leatherman Wave (old style) which suits me. My Swiss Tool is my second most carried. Its better quality built than the Wave, but doesn't quite suit my everyday. I have others but I wont go into them. See the current forum thread on "Leatherman Wave" for more details and alternatives.

I hope that helps.

First of all hello and welcome. A wealth of information here.

1) Casio makes some VERY tough watches. They have several solar models that also have compasses on them. I currently own this one:

http://www.shoplite.com/spf70-1v.htm

2) The SAS survival guides are a great source of infromation. Not so much in the hunting category, but do have info on traps/snares and such. There are several versions of the SAS Guide, including the Collins Gem version (small pocket guide) the original book and a waterproof "flick" book. All are reviewed here on ETS. Also, check out Cody Lundin's 98 degrees. An excellent read.

3) Leatherman makes a good multi-tool. What you should buy depends on your needs and budget. Victorinox also makes a good multi-tool. Again it is about preference.

4) If you need a truck, then by all means get one, but a truck isn't alsways the best idea for a "bug out vehicle". They get much worse gas milage than a car. If diesel is cheaper in your area, then great, but that isn't the case in a lot of areas. There are several manufacturers making thier vehicles available in diesel. Including Jeep with the Liberty available with a diesel engine. A smaller SUV, but decent gas milage and a decent ammount of storage. Also slated for 21mpg city, 26mpg highway.

I have a VW Jetta TDI as our "save on fuel" car, and it has quite a decent ammount of room and is excellent on fuel. I am currently getting between 45-48 mpg highway. It also now has 100,000 miles on her and going strong.

As for other info, spend some time on the main site reading reviews and using the very good search engine. There is a wealth of info here at ETS.

I joined, like most everyone else, to get the information needed to make sure I wasn't caught with my pants down in an emergency situation. Plus, I have always been a gear junky.

I hope so too!

I guess I liken it to guitars. The first guitar I ever owned cost $350, which I found out much later is about the least one would want to spend on a decent guitar. As my interest grew I got more expensive models. My most expensive one is $2500. Concert classical guitarists will commonly pay in excess of $20,000 for an instrument. Will I ever own a $20,000 guitar? Not unless I hit the Power Ball. Do I still play my $350 guitar? You bet.

I'm guessing what I'm seeing in the stores are more of an intermediate type of bow. The one I peeked at at Wal Mart was $250. I'm just nervous that it will be poor quality and I will have spent a lot of money for garbage. Then again, I've never owned a bow, and I've wanted one since I can remember...thanks to "The Dukes of Hazzard". So maybe I should stop worrying and just put it on layaway...

Welcome. Just hang out, and read past postss. There is an incredible amount of information here.

Lofty Martin's SAS book is pretty good, but I like 98.6 as it is more direct. If you want woodmanship, get something fitted to your environment. You might be able to find Bradford Angier's book new or used.

Watches: don't do a compass IN watch combo. Neither works well. If you want hands, look at Sieko. If you want digits, look at Casio or Timex. Then get a seperate compass.

Re: diesel, I don't know about your area, but deisel feul is getting more and more scarce around here, except on the interstates. I've run diesel, and I run gas now. Diesel is great if you run them hard. If not, don't bother -- and it is a bother. Glow plugs, heavy cranking amps, etc. The europeans [make that the models available to europeans] are light years ahead of us.

The first order of preparation is to take a deep breath at least twice as deep as your pocket. You need to assess your immediate threat levels and appropriate responses to same. If a nuclear devise goes off how is a bow going to help ? The still developing story of Katrina and now Rita (why do I think of old G/Fs with these names and shiver <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />) is providing valuable lessons. As Forum member Peanut in Baton Rouge recently discovered potable water and gasoline are literally the lifeblood of our society. People naturally react to these events with a 'hurry up and get everything now' mindset. Small fortunes were made after 9/11 by surplus vendors selling gas masks. An acquaintance bought a closeout grabbag of survival and homesteading books about the same time. 9 out of 12 books were about Y2K, one on raising poultry, a gun buyer's guide from 1998 and an out of date radio frequency guide. Your first order of business is to take a inventory of what you have NOW. Then use the many resources online and LEARN.

It depends what you want from your compass.
My Casio is as good as a small compass like the button type. Its draw back is its possible failure due to the batteries going flat.

For full mapreading/oreinteering etc I wouldn't by choice use my Casio Watch or Suunto Clipper or Silver Button compass.

I don't understand what you want to buy a bow for, if you don't know how to use one in the first place ??!?? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
Or maybe you already joined an archery club, where you can lend one. And now you want to buy your own. But then, there should be people at your club, knowledgeable enough to help you make your choice....

If you have never used a bow, first thing is to join a club and learn !
You don"t buy a bow because of its color or looks ! Its size/characteristics have to be related to your own physical characteristics/abilities, which will change after a year (at least a few months..) of practising archery.
That's why in my club, we warn people against buying a bow immediatly. At the end of their first shooting season, we then help them making a choice...

And target shooting is not hunting ..... it's (almost ...) a completly different training ....

I am a lifelong hunter and I just went bowhunting for the first time last month. I have been in your shoes so maybe this might be of help.

It's likely that the $250.00 bow at Walmart is good enough to get started on. The problem is that it's also likely that it isn't going to fit you for crap. I'd much rather have a cheap bow that fits than a $750.00 bow that doesn't, but a $250.00 bow that doesn't fit is going to be plain horrible.

Do yourself a favor, go into your local archery shop, and at least have a look around. Go after hunting season. Hunters are a fickle lot. Many just have to have the latest, superfast bow available. That means that there are plenty of used ones available that are great bargains. Or even check Ebay. But either way, get a professional to set up your bow. It will be much easier down the road, trust me.

By the way, bowhunting is a blast. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Regards, Vince

On the vehicle front, you might want to look into the Jeep Liberty CRD. It's the diesel version introduced by Jeep into the U.S. in the 2005 model year. It is my understanding that Jeep is looking into offering a diesel version of the Wrangler in the near future. (The engines in both models are based on current European versions).

JimJr

One more general piece of advice -- for the basics, get what you can on your budget sooner rather than witing to buy up the deluxe gear. The $10 knife with you is much better than the $300 sebenza still sitting on the store shelf. If you are careful, you should be able to cover the basics for $100 or so, even if some of the gear is a compromise. Then, you can upgrade certain items later, as funds allow.

When I first started preparing, I found the price tag of some of the gear intimidating, which caused me to put off getting everything together. My BOB now has a $0.99 knife. Not great, but better than nothing (but I always have my Leatherman Wave with me, so no biggie).

Of course, feel free to ignore this advice if you last name is "Trump" or "Gates."

Watches: this summer I went looking with roughly the same criteria. I found lots of compass watches and lots of solar-powered ones, but very few that had both features. In fact, the Casio SPF range linked earlier was about it. I bought one of those, and am fairly happy with it. However, it costs twice what you said you'd pay. It's physically big and I'd say it was more gadget/nerdy than "good looking". I wear it partly because of its other features, especially the down-counter which my previous watch didn't have. I'm a nerd. I like gadgets.

Since buying it I have been coming around to the view that solar power is a mistake. It still uses batteries, which charge up during the day and discharge at night. That must have a finite cycle life, albeit lasting longer than non-rechargable batteries would. I suspect now that it would better to get a normal battery watch and stockpile the batteries.

Carrying a separate compass is hugely cheaper than getting one built into the watch. However, I do find the watch one more convenient - it is one less thing to carry on my keyring. As others have said, if you know you are going to need a compass, take a proper one in addition to your every-day carry, whether the EDC be button or watch.

The SPF also has a barometer, which is potentially useful for local weather prediction. In practice, probably not. Mine draws a little graph, but it's a bit too small to use - my previous Casio did better. If you care about the weather you should probably check a proper forecast. Some models which have a barometer also have an altitude feature, which could potentially help when navigating, but my SPF goes for a depth gauge instead (which is useless to me - and its not rated for SCUBA use).

I have seen watches which showed tide times, that might be useful if you live near the coast.

You can get watches that store phone numbers and other data, but nowadays it is probably better to store that stuff in a mobile phone.

I can't think of anything else that would be "great for survival" other than general build-quality, reliability and water-proofness.

> I can't think of anything else that would be "great for survival"

By chance, I just came across this - a watch with a magnifying glass and LED torch. I have no idea whether it is any good. In my experience magnifying glasses are useless for lighting fires (at least in the UK), and the torch is probably weak compared to a Photon Freedom. But interesting, all the same.

I would love to have a $100 flash light and $250 pocket knife but I start with the cheaper stuff because it cost less when I break it. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

There are diesels and there are Duramaxes. The rattely diesels are found in Fords and Dodges. The Duramax is found in Chevys and GMC's. Expect over 20MPG highway and a "quiet" engine. And, Duramax DOES NOT SMOKE, except a little on startup. Unfortunately, it does have the awful smell of diesel but not in the cab. If you are considering a diesel, research the Duramax with the Allison transmission. It sold me and I have been a lifetime Ford fan. No more. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Is "rattely" a word? Maybe it's "rattley" or "rattle-y". Or maybe you spell it "Dodge"! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

There must be some Duramax owners on the forum. Post your opinion which I know will be positive. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Take a look here:

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I hope I can still afford to drive it after all the hurricane mess. I just filled up the 25 gallon tank for $67.48 and they didn't even clean my windshield! <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> I have bought used cars in the distant past for less than that. I once had a Ford Model A coupe with rumble seat that I used for fishing. Paid $25 and that was after haggling! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />