It always amazes me how some people never test a new item first before going out camping or planning to use it for survival. My brother and I do a lot of camping with a group of people and numerous times a year I see people open a new item or a garage sale item , stove, air mattress, tent, inflatable chair, lantern or any number of items that have never been tested and expect it to work. A few times a year something doesn’t work, or has missing parts. Also you see them sitting there reading the instructions to try to figure it out for the first time. I (and my brother) always test things at home in the back yard to see how it works and make sure it works and that all the parts are there.


I can’t see not testing an item to make sure you understand what it will and will not do. I think we all have bought items that did not live up to what the manufacturer said it would do. Nice to know this before hand, and it gives us a chance to become more familiar with how the item will work.