I could easily just shut my door for 30 days, for me, the first few months would be easy, it would be at about the 90 day mark that I would have to start working hard to haul water and fuel, and cook wheat and beans.
My lighting and music, and reading, are covered for many years.
+ 1
Actual contents of my current EDC 2nd tier (opened FAK contents not shown for practical reasons, it is the waterproof bag, that is contained in an external pouch attached to main Maxpedition Remora bag).
Some aspects of America have always astonished me, and this BOB etc is one such. I think if the brown stuff hit the rotating ventilation device, we’d be screwed. Tap water requires electric pumps, as does gas. So, no water, no gas, no electricity, no fuel. There is no point preparing, unless you are wealthy, have a private well, private fuel source, big fencing to keep out the hordes, weapons, huge stores of food, etc.
It is mainly a game, I could agree.
And an attempt to excuse gear hoarding (aka big boys’ toys).
Taken with some sanity, it is indeed an useful way to approach everyday’s unexpected events in a practical and positive mindset.
It’s good clean fun and a way to learn new stuff. 
Why do you assume the emergency preparedness is ‘American’? On the SEP board are members from other countries including the UK.
For the majority of people in any country you’d be right. Less than 10% of Americans are prepared for any type of emergency situation and I’d wager the % is about the same in other western nations. People are either buried in their comfort zone or they adopt the ‘it won’t happen to me’ mantra. Neither is a wise course of action. Taking some common sense measures to prevent or mitigate an emergency situation for oneself and family takes personal initiative and sadly most people aren’t willing to put in the effort.
Depends on if you’re chained to your local municipal water supply and your location. If the grid went down for most it would be catastrophic. For me personally it would be mildly inconvenient. I have lakes and rivers all around me and the means to make it completely potable. Even in the desert you can harvest over 5,000 gallons of fresh water a year on only 12 inches of annual rain if you know how. But that’s the catch in that you take the effort to learn how.
Completely untrue. One can do quite a bit of practical, common sense prepping at the local $ store. And knowledge is power.
For what? Staying warm? That can be accomplished the same way folks have been doing for thousands of years i.e. use the environment around them and create micro climates in the home.
Okay. Yes, there will be a lot of unprepared people to contend with. One area I suppose America has an advantage in that we have more privately owned weapons than all the citizens and militaries of all other countries combined (nearly half a billion). And if it were a true WROL/TEOTWAWKI you’d have to content with panic/looting/rioting etc. So you can sit back and let it happen or take proactive steps to prevent/avoid/mitigate that situation.
All of the above depends on the actual situation. A common sense ‘prepper’ isn’t exclusively concerned with the ‘end of the world’. In actuality it is much more mundane such as storms, wild fires, mud slides, drought etc. But being prepared for one thing helps to be prepared for other things. Don’t have to go to an extreme and don’t have to let it consume your life. Common sense and being practical goes a long way.
See post 160, preparing suits the poor just fine, buying in bulk when food is cheap and on sale, having stocks for times of low funds or being out of work, having poor man’s hobbies that contribute to preparedness, like camping, hunting and fishing. Living on the edge economically should make a person value a degree of preparedness and self-sufficiency, even more.
I grew up in hurricane country, millions of Americans live in sever winter conditions and are accustomed for generations to be prepared for snow ins, it is the same in hurricane areas, and the same in earthquake areas, and then there are other reasons such as a large scale terror event, to have the basics of survival in your home.
Even in your car, try spending a night in your broken down or stuck car at 10 below zero, or in the desert, or even on a Southern California freeway when there is a freeway lock down for 6 hours and the temperature is 110, and you just left the gym, thirsty, or have a car load of kids.
In an emergency, one might have to leave their place of work and walk for a day or two to get home, and that could be in terrible desert or winter conditions, so BOBs are a reasonable thing to keep in the car, even office preparedness makes sense, and is common in earthquake country, like California.
I was taught long ago that what one human being can do, so to can others. And since human beings have survived for thousands upon thousands of years without indoor plumbing, gas, electricity, or fuel, I do believe your conclusion powered by what seems like a defeatist attitude flies in the face of human history and the will to survive.
Perhaps Brad was correct and it was just bait.
It might be that you interested in being better prepared, and merely need some help getting started on how to prepare when there isn’t extra money available to just leap in and order everything out of the catalog.
What is your situation? Some of us are very good at being prepared and poor, and can help you get to a pretty good level of being ready, while spending little, or even adopting ways that save you money annually.
No it does seem really strange to me, and I suspect to many if not most Brits.
England is a small densely populated country. So if a disaster struck, most of us would be screwed. If you live near the wilds, then you at least have deer, rabbit, fish etc to live on. But the likelihood of such a break down is so low, that it seems boddto spend time planning. Not that learning to survive wild is a bad thing, you get outdoors, learn new skills, that’s good.
very true. Those who are not even a little prepared for emergencies, or have attitudes that they would be “screwed” would have a very rough time in even short term emergencies, and in long term emergencies would not survive at all. Taking “luxuries” like electricity, gas, government provided infrastructure, and modern conveniences for granted these days is a mistake. As mentioned above, humans lived for thousands of years without any of these 1st-world luxuries, and many still do. Being prepared for even short term emergencies like power failures, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, regional disasters is a must, and those who have the attitude to just “give up” when things go bad will have a very rough time.
Why would someone who keeps extra water and food and lighting in their flat, or home, be screwed if there was an emergency period when food and water and electricity were not available for awhile, from the stores and utilities?
People in Britain never prepare for harsh winters, or storms, or emergencies, or unemployment, ever?
You seem to be speaking and thinking (and arguing) collectively, rather than thinking of yourself as an individual, what about starting with your own preparedness, and speaking and thinking in terms of what you and your own household needs to be better prepared for a interruption in services and groceries?
I don't think Leif is trying to bait anyone. I think that many (maybe most) folks feel just like her/him. I think she/he is just honestly sharing her/his thoughts. That's a good thing and this current discussion is a good one.
It's been raining here for just a little over a week now in many parts of South Carolina. The last couple days have brought some very heavy rains. Some areas received over 15 inches last I watched the news. We have a quite a bit of flooding, power outages, and property damage. Some folks have died or are missing from this rain. There are boil water advisories in effect in some areas. At the moment, many of our public emergency systems are over whelmed. Many roads are blocked and curfews are in effect is several areas.
Watching the news, it is quite notable how many folks that have had to flee their homes or be rescued have nothing with them. It's common to hear one say to the medias that that they had to leave the house with only the clothes on their back. I see some women have purses. So some of them have at least maybe some medicines and such with them.
At a time like this, I take some comfort knowing my wife and I have a few tools and supplies available to ride out this storm in or out of my home. They may not save us, but give us a better chance. The next item we need to add is a hammock for my wife. Hopefully this storm has opened her eyes as to why I feel we both need one. There is no dry ground anywhere around here at times.
Arguing against preparedness and making it about Americans, seems like bait to me.
No, not bait, just a UK viewpoint. I think the earlier poster made a good point. We don’t have the rain, storms, and God forbid, earthquakes that you have, or may have. I guess if you live in a hurricane zone, it does make sense to have provisions and tools set aside. For us a disaster is a shortage of humous at Waitrose (a well known supermarket). If it comforts you, I do have pleny of AA batteries charged up, and flashlights ready. Oh, and a few cans of black beans in the larder, plus home grown veg in the garden.
Again with your speaking for all of Britain and pretending that only Americans take precautions among the people of the world, to be prepared for emergencies and shortages.
Perhaps Leif should look at the London Risk Register, Greater London Authority February 2014.
http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/London%20Risk%20Register%20v3.0.pdf
Since you are clearly wound up, I’ll leave the thread. Life’s too short to squabble. As the other poster said, I was merely politely expressing a view that may be widely held.
I’m not wound up at all, and again, you claim to speak as a crowd, rather than just for yourself.
It sounds like your argument is against being prepared, or against Americans, but not about your original claim, of it being too hard to prepare if one isn’t rich, I notice that you don’t actually respond to our posts, for instance post 171.
It does look like you got on this thread to bait.
Geez, Brad, calm the flip down already. 