The Zombie Preparedness Thread

[Goodspeed]

LOOOOOL.

I would love to drive that.

[G.Irish]

Has anyone watched The Walking Dead show on AMC? I just started checking it out this weekend and I've been enjoying it. Plenty of moral dilemmas, pickaxes to the dome, and suspense to go around. Season 1 is on Netflix, season 2 is showing on AMC now.

[Mike]

I really enjoyed the first half of S1, got a little bored towards the end of S1 as it became a soap opera. Started S2, but it has completely lost my interest.

[Evan]

yeah the series jumped the shark after the old person hospital episode and went downhill from there.

havent watched S2 yet though, maybe ill give it another shot.

[ScottyB]

S2 is definitely slower and more soapy, but i feel like its necessary preparation for some good stuff coming in S3.

even at its low points its still one of the better network series in the last few years.

[CaptainHenreh]

WALT!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!!!!


WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111one

Admittedly, the payoff was good. Not worth it, but good.

[Mike]

S2 is definitely slower and more soapy, but i feel like its necessary preparation for some good stuff coming in S3.

you sound like an android owner.

:rimshot:

[ScottyB]

you sound like an android owner.

i don't think i'm nerdy enough to get that.

[Apoc]

Zombie thread! (see what I did there??)

I wrote this post awhile back and never shared it: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://chris.derecola.com/2015/09/preparedness/">http://chris.derecola.com/2015/09/preparedness/</a><!-- m -->

Pictured below is my kit for walks in the woods. I generally wonder if I'm over-prepared, but then I watch Survivorman and think I'm probably just right. There are things I could leave behind, and I've done so without bodily harm, but I always operate under the assumption I'm going to spend the night outside. Looking at this, I want to beef up my wound care a bit and maybe add one of those rope bracelets. I've been known to carry home defense pepper spray as bear spray, but that's very dependent on the area we're hiking in.

Longer or multi-day hikes would generally include a LifeStraw and something to cook in.

[WRXtranceformed]

Not bad, I couldn't tell if that top left thing is a jacket or something else? Don't think I saw it but have you considered a compact emergency blanket and a tarp? I would imagine a lot of the terrain you hike in is fairly mountainous and could get cold REAL quick in the fall / winter, might be good to toss those in if you can fit them.

I should probably beef up our hiking packs, although most of what we are doing is not really off the beaten path by any means and tend to be pretty high traffic. The possibility of getting lost or stuck after hours is there but not as much as if we went exploring in a national forest. We generally hike very light with a few heavier layers, filled water bladder and food, hiking poles, flashlight, knife, gun and magazine. My bug out bag is pretty much completed but I'm glad you posted this because our daily driver packs need attention.

[Apoc]

The top left is a rain jacket with hood. The white/silver thing at the 7 o'clock position is a mylar emergency blanket. We keep them in our packs all the time, even when we travel. I'm a believer after the F1 race at Austin saw rain with temps in the low 50's. I had layers on, but I wasn't ready for the high wind and chill the day provided. I tucked the emergency blanket between my raincoat and my shirt and was instantly warm. I will have one within reach nearly all the time now. I've also thought about a solid weight poncho in place of a rain jacket, since it is better for shelter, but I haven't pulled that trigger yet. I think I'd rather have a tactical layer for warm and the versitilty of a poncho, but that means I'm carrying even more stuff.

My car kits consist of first aid, light sticks, and emergency blankets. I just bought a case of hand warmers and I'm going to throw a few of those in the kits as well. I don't keep any water in the car; mostly because it's bulky and would get in the way. I'd like to find a way around that.

[WRXtranceformed]

Nice, good call on the mylar blankets I wasn't sure if you had them there or not. The tarp is super nice for shelter and if you get a paracord bracelet or just a bundle of paracord you're all set to make shelter.

Water is a tough one in your car too I agree...especially in the winter if you are parking outside. Don't want it freezing!!

[WRXtranceformed]

Thanks to your post Chris I added a 2 person emergency blanket and a 50ft bundle of paracord to my day hiking pack. An easy way I have found to build your readiness packs is to leverage the point system and free Dick's dollars you get in the mail from Dicks' Sporting Goods. I usually buy my golf balls there and when you use the extra points coupons with purchases you get free $10 rewards back pretty quickly. A lot of the stuff you need for a readiness pack is in the $5-$20 range, so you can use those coupons to fill your pack for mostly free. I think I spent $3.00 after tax.

[WRXtranceformed]

Not necessarily a zombie-ready bag but after our last hot early spring hike I decided it was time to pick up another pack. We have a couple of great ones but they are all heavily padded and really hot during the spring-summer months here; I sweated through my shirt completely during our last hike.

REI does their annual members sale so I got a 20% off coupon to use on any item. I picked up an Osprey Synchro 15 pack that we're about to take for it's break-in hike:


This seems like one of the most well thought out bags I have seen in a while. It was designed with bike riders in mind but also functions well for day hikers. Really like that they outsourced the water pack to Hydrapack, it's a really well thought out system and the quick disconnect is really cool (it will remain to be seen whether this leaks or gets accidentally disconnected or not)



The bite is really simple and works really well, much better than the open/close versions from Camelback...you just bite and get water:

It also has an adjustable magnetic attachment so you can leave it attached to your strap or easily pop it loose to grab a drink or share it with your wifey:


Plenty of space inside for gear. Although it's laid out inside for bike tools, I found a small flashlight and paracord fit perfectly in the gear loops. I need to pull the trigger on an actual 1-2 day first aid kit, for right now I have a few bandages and some antibiotic cream as a ghetto stand in. Not seen here is the Shield .40 and a Xikar torch



The bike helmet holder also doubles as a nice hiking pole holder:


The real reasons I bought this thing though were how light it is, the suspended mesh back system and mesh shoulder straps. If I can't stay cool in this pack I don't know what would work:


It has an integrated rain cover that stores in the very bottom of the pack which is a super nice touch in case we get caught somewhere in a shower. Lifetime warranty is the icing on top, definitely stoked to beat this thing up today!

[CaptainHenreh]

yeah, but will a Mk18 fit inside?

[WRXtranceformed]

yeah, but will a Mk18 fit inside?

Might be a tight squeeze but if you got the dimensions I'll measure! I'm pretty sure my 10/22 takedown would fit.

4 hours of steamy June forest / waterfall hiking capped off with about 1200 vertical ft in a very short time and this thing performed superbly! I did not back sweat at all! :thumbup:

[CaptainHenreh]

yeah, but will a Mk18 fit inside?

Might be a tight squeeze but if you got the dimensions I'll measure! I'm pretty sure my 10/22 takedown would fit.

762 mm (30.0 in) stock extended
679.4 mm (26.75 in) stock retracted

[WRXtranceformed]

yeah, but will a Mk18 fit inside?

Might be a tight squeeze but if you got the dimensions I'll measure! I'm pretty sure my 10/22 takedown would fit.

762 mm (30.0 in) stock extended
679.4 mm (26.75 in) stock retracted

Negative, depth is about 19.5" width about 8.5". They do make a larger version (Synchro 20) but I'm not sure if that would be long enough either.

[Apoc]

Mine's an Osprey too; they make quality gear. Repost:



I've also added a few items to my pack:

Israeli compression bandage: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DPVERM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003D ... UTF8&psc=1</a><!-- m -->



A pair of plastic cuffs: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YD1HTI/">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YD1HTI/</a><!-- m -->



Poncho with grommets; replacing my rain jacket: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WLW6DI/">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WLW6DI/</a><!-- m -->

[Apoc]

I finally got a dedicated box for supplies. This stuff serves double duty as emergency preparedness and camping.

Stove, fuel, cook kit, mess kits, first aid kit, emergency blankets, heavy wound bandages, water filtration system, hand warmers, glow sticks, pop-up shelter, hatchet, shovel, toilet paper, paper towels, hand wipes, trash bags, bungee cords, rope, tie downs, USB charging pot, three styles of fire starting, tarp, ponchos, extra tent stakes, and sleep pads.