Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 1 of 2 1 2 >
Topic Options
#241061 - 02/14/12 01:00 AM Friends...I'm new to the survival game.
ruReady Offline
Stranger

Registered: 02/10/12
Posts: 2
Loc: Iowa
I am looking for some tips and info pertaining to surviving the worst. BOB's, web sites, magazines and books, as well as your personal advice. Figured I'd go to the source...you guys. Any help is appreciated.

Top
#241062 - 02/14/12 01:25 AM Re: Friends...I'm new to the survival game. [Re: ruReady]
Byrd_Huntr Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 01/28/10
Posts: 1174
Loc: MN, Land O' Lakes & Rivers ...
Welcome, you came to the right place.

One thing you could do to get started is click on the 'active topics' link at the top of this page. You will find 38 pages of things we are actively discussing right now.

You can also use the the 'search' function, and whatever you put in there we've probably argued, agreed, disagreed, photographed, and quoted already.

Have fun...
_________________________
The man got the powr but the byrd got the wyng

Top
#241063 - 02/14/12 01:38 AM Re: Friends...I'm new to the survival game. [Re: ruReady]
leemann Offline
Soylent Green
Addict

Registered: 02/08/04
Posts: 623
Loc: At the soylent green plant.
The campfire is open to all have a seat and stay a while. Welcome to the forums.

Lee
_________________________
It's the year 2022...People are still the same
They'll do anything to get what they need.
And they need Soylent Green.
http://datacore.sciflicks.com/soylent_green/sounds/soylent_green_people.wav
RIP OBG

Top
#241064 - 02/14/12 01:44 AM Re: Friends...I'm new to the survival game. [Re: ruReady]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Welcome aboard!

1) Determine the threats that you want to prepare for. For example, at home I plan for short (three days or less) to medium term (between three days and three weeks) loss of utilities. In the car, I plan for being stranded (perhaps in a snow drift) for three days. On the commuter rail I plan for an unexpected overnight if the train breaks down or there's some other kind of transportation disruption. In addition to the gear I carry on the commuter rail, I also have some extra food and clothes stashed at the office if I get stuck there.

2) Figure out what skills you'll need, and find ways to get them. If you want to learn about wild edibles, for example, Blast teaches a class in his area that gets rave reviews. There are some great first aid classes from the basic to the very advanced. Several schools teach wilderness survival skills as well.

3) Make a plan. Written emergency procedures and information can really make a big difference; if you're not home when the emergency occurs, your loved ones will know what to do. If you are home chances are that you'll be pretty frazzled and forget something important; with a procedure and a checklist you reduce that chance.

4) Get your gear together. Once you know your threats and have the appropriate skills and plans, putting your gear together should be a snap. Many people make the mistake of starting with gear and then moving on to the other things. The best survival kit in the world is useless if you don't know what's in it or how to use its components. With that said, for your situation it might be relatively obvious that it's a good idea to have extra water and food, so by all means you can start working on those sorts of things while working on the other parts.

Most important is a prepared mindset. Complacency kills.

Top
#241065 - 02/14/12 02:14 AM Re: Friends...I'm new to the survival game. [Re: ruReady]
bacpacjac Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 05/05/07
Posts: 3601
Loc: Ontario, Canada
Welcome to ETS, ruReady!

You'll find a great group here. The folks here are willing to share their experiences and wisdom, as well looking forward to learning from you. There's a lot to learn and figure out and most of us find it an ongoing process. Pull up a stool by the campfire and stay a while!
_________________________
Mom & Adventurer

You can find me on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT9fpZEy5XSWkYy7sgz-mSA

Top
#241066 - 02/14/12 02:38 AM Re: Friends...I'm new to the survival game. [Re: ruReady]
Bingley Offline
Veteran

Registered: 02/27/08
Posts: 1576
Originally Posted By: ruReady
I am looking for some tips and info pertaining to surviving the worst. BOB's, web sites, magazines and books, as well as your personal advice. Figured I'd go to the source...you guys. Any help is appreciated.


I assume you have been exploring the information that Doug Ritter put up at http://www.equipped.org/? I think it's a very good starting point.

This is a good forum, because people are civil, level-headed, and informative. Most people here know a lot more than I do about preparation. But let me try to make myself useful on one point. Many people feel quite urgently about the *necessity* of preparation, but I think the degree of preparation is really up to the individual, though you may encounter strong opinions ("you are a fool if you don't prepare for this particular type of disaster!"), probably elsewhere more often than here. So for someone starting out I'd point out that preparation is like insurance or other risk management techniques. You assess your risks. You look at your monthly budget. You figure out how much being prepared for Disaster X or Situation Y is worth to you. Then you budget for preparation, and invest your budgeted money wisely in equipment and training. Don't let people browbeat you into thinking that you must prepare for floods if you live in a desert.

The other thing is that some people will get caught up in the gadgets. Yes, I'm one of those. I like my gadgets. I have more than is necessary for survival needs. I have more flashlights, knives, etc. than I'll actually need in an emergency. For some people this part is kind of a hobby: boys and their toys. As long as you recognize this, you can buy all the gadgets you want and share them with us. wink

Top
#241067 - 02/14/12 03:55 AM Re: Friends...I'm new to the survival game. [Re: ruReady]
ruReady Offline
Stranger

Registered: 02/10/12
Posts: 2
Loc: Iowa
Thanks to all who have responded...I feel welcome and comfortble already. I am going to spen some time reading thru the forum. if I have questions I will be sure to ask. Again a big thanks to everyone.

Top
#241076 - 02/14/12 12:48 PM Re: Friends...I'm new to the survival game. [Re: ruReady]
Krista Offline
Member

Registered: 03/03/10
Posts: 101
Loc: North Carolina
I'm probably nowhere near as prepared as others here, but something that I've found that helps me is to keep a notebook (or folder on your computer) where I keep track of new things I learn, things I want to learn, advice, etc. When you start reading through all of the helpful websites, it's sometimes easy to find yourself following the links into a huge variety of subjects. So I literally take notes, so I can know what subjects I want/need to revisit. Also, your printer is your friend! When I first started into 'preparedness', the first thing I did was make copies of all my important documents. Then I printed out a bunch of different information about purifying water. I keep everything organized on my computer, but hard copies are important so for that everything is in a 3-ring binder, so that I can add to it as I go.

Also, it's easy to get overwhelmed! So I second Chaosmagnet's advice of deciding what and how long you are preparing for. I think preparing for 3 days worth of power outage is a great start.
_________________________
Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.

~Marion C. Garretty



Top
#241092 - 02/14/12 03:40 PM Re: Friends...I'm new to the survival game. [Re: Krista]
Snake_Doctor
Unregistered


I'm no expert. But the people here are friendly and willing to share advice. You picked a good place to learn. Welcome to ETS.

Top
#241233 - 02/15/12 03:01 PM Re: Friends...I'm new to the survival game. [Re: ruReady]
comms Offline
Veteran

Registered: 07/23/08
Posts: 1502
Loc: Mesa, AZ
Welcome to the forum. Make sure to read the rules. There are a few things we don't discuss on here. Otherwise prepare for some serious knowledge dump. Ask away if nothings clear
_________________________
Don't just survive. Thrive.

Top
Page 1 of 2 1 2 >



Moderator:  MartinFocazio, Tyber 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 456 Guests and 71 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
03/27/24 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
03/27/24 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.