Welcome to ETS!

The standard "welcome" message that the moderators send to new users suggests that they drop by Around The Campfire to introduce themselves. However, very few new folks do that. It occurred to me that they may be looking for a thread where others had introduced themselves, and not found it.

So here it is, the official Welcome to ETS thread. It's not in any way mandatory, but new folks are encouraged to introduce themselves here.


Welcome!

chaosmagnet

Hello everyone. My name is Andrew and I am new to this forum. While I have had a vehicle survival kit for a few years, I have been trying to be more prepared at home and make my vehicle kit more mobile should I have to abandon my vehicle.

I have been reading John McCann's book, "Building the Perfect Survival Kit," which is really excellent. I have also been reading Cody Lundin's book, "98.6 Degrees, the Art of Keeping your Ass alive." Any other suggestions for good books are welcome.

Right now, I am trying to fine tune my 72 hour survival kit/ bug out bag. It is essentially my vehicle kit minus most of the stuff that is vehicle specific.

Welcome to ETS! There's a lot of great info here, I think you'll like it.

Warm welcome Andrew

Please keep in mind that building a survival kit should not be the only focus for preparedness. Building your physical condition and broadening your knowledge are both important.

Also, do not forget any limitations that may require extra thoughts like having an elderly or small kids in your family , or somoene with medical condition like diabetes or short sightedness ..etc.

One example here is : I had an occasional problem in my knee . It is OK most of the time, but I have added a walking cane in the trunk of my car, 'cause you never know ! The knee problem may hit again when I am trying to walk back home after some disaster.

Welcome sir to the forums...

Thank you for welcoming me to the forums.

So, newbie, what do you think: pepper spray or firearm against a bear?

I pick not being in that situation in the first place

This one's a keeper!

Hello ETS. Nice place you got here.

Welcome aboard!

I'm curious to know how you selected your screen name. Mine? Well, weird and sometimes awful things seem to happen to me and near me all the time.

Random password generator.

Smart man~! Welcome to ETS!!

Uh... Most of you probably don't really recognize me because I don't post much anymore, but I'm apparently user #395 here and registered all the way back in 2003... so Hello Everyone! Welcome Newbies, and if you like what you see, Doug always appreciates a donation to cover his costs of being a consumer advocate!
(purely optional... I have occasionally donated, and now I feel guilty because I realize it's been awhile. Hopefully Doug won't see this...I should donate after I do my taxes...)

Nice to see you back, ki4buc! Obviously I'm a nOOb here comparatively, going back only six years or so.

Hi folks, Matt here and thanks for having me as a new member. I really like the sense of community here as well as the maturity and respect shown on the forum.

I'm a knife nut myself. I run a small knife-related website called Knife Informer, mainly aimed at sharing my opinions on knives and the odd article here and there about other knife related topics. Stop by if you haven't already (link in sig)...and my ears are always open to feedback.

So, thanks again folks, keep on survivin'!
Matt

Hi, Matt. I'm Jeanette Isabelle, named after the French Christmas carol, and the forum's basket case. Don't worry; I'm harmless.

Jeanette Isabelle

Hi Matt and welcome to the forums..

Lee

If you haven't visited Knife Informer yet, you should.

Hello all,
New member here. I have been lurking around these forums for years. Why I didn't join previously is beyond me! I have learned a vast amount from the members here by perusing the threads. I look forward to future communication.

Regards.

If you've been lurking for years, you probably know I'm the forum's basket case. Welcome.

Jeanette Isabelle

Welcome aboard!

Hi, Comanche7 here.

Although I originally joined 2002-07-05,[edited to reflect member #114, this probably is a revised new numbering system due to forum software changes, but it is what my profile tells me] I haven't been posting much for a while (life has provided multiple challenges to deal with, or as I prefer to view it, I've been provided with many "opportunities that require creative solutions").

I've quietly been online a during my hiatus in posting though, quietly lurking in the background, just saw this thread and figured that I'd poke my head up and say "Hi" to all the old timers and offer a warm friendly welcome the newer members.

This has always been a great forum and I've learned a great deal from other members both new and old.

Also would like to say a special thank you to Doug Ritter for providing this forum (and if anyone ever has a chance to meet him in person, please do so, you will find that he is a genuine person).

Regards,
Comanche7

Hi everyone, names Louis, if you hadn't guessed already... new here also : )

Mostly here to read, research and learn from the community. I'm based in the UK. Not as many of us here in blighty.

So... who's got the marshmallows?

Cheers

Lou

I’ll bring the beer !!!! And boudin!!

Welcome Louis!

Welcome to EST!

Welcome

I don't think we will have difficulty finding someone who can start the fire!

Thanks everyone : )

Hello everybody. My name is Gareth, and I am new to this forum.

I am trying to fine tune my 72 hour survival kit / bag.

Any tips?

Welcome!

There are lots of ideas, discussions and just plain good thinking around here. We also get a lot of fun out of taking part. Don't forget to use the "Search" box when you are thinking about things as it will help you did through the large archive of information here.

As for fine tuning - for me that's become an ongoing thing. I retired the end of July and am "evolving" my bag into a different type of content as I'm usually around home and getting there will be much easier now. I'm exploring the idea of a pre-configured coat with "stuff" in the zipped up pockets to go with a small bail out bag as my current concept.

Hope that helps - Good luck!

Paul -

The section, 72 Hour Kit, accessed from the main page, has some excellent pointers. Occasionally there is a lively discussion on this forum.

And there are lots of direction to take this subject. Circumstances vary considerably

http://www.equipped.org/72hourkit.htm

Glad to have you here, GarethDuncan!

If you’d like, start a new thread in The Survival Forum section asking for suggestions, including an inventory and the sorts of issues you reasonably expect you may face. The things I’m planning for (tornados, snow storms, flooding, with low risk of earthquake and wildfires) might be different from yours.

Welcome! A brief idea of your 'training', background or knowledge would help. Lots of resources here.

ZS refugee here, this looks like a pretty nice community here. Thanks for having me!

Long time prepper- over the years my focus has migrated from physical security and stored food to growing food and digital and financial security. I look forward to participating here.

Hey Pete, welcome aboard. I would be interested to hear more about your food growing and financial security activities. IMO that's the stuff that really matters.

And yes, we work hard to foster a civil discussion here; it's a rare and pleasant oasis amidst the howling, pointless, unproductive flame wars on the rest of the 'net.

Hey, PistolPete, glad to see you here! I think you'll like it. Yes, I'm the same Blast as over on ZS.
-Blast

Welcome! The vibe here is a little different, but the helpful and informative part is pretty similar.

I'm the same Phaedrus as over there, too.